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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What year is it when Nakamura gives up his false identity in Section 4, Chapter 10?

2. Who goes to urge Darky to get up and work before the soldiers return and beat him in Section 3, Chapter 15?

3. What offense does Dorrigo accuse the Goanna of having committed in Section 3, Chapter 21?

4. How many children does Jack Rainbow's widow say she and Jack had in Section 4, Chapter 12?

5. What does the Goanna consider asking about as he is prepared for execution in Section 4, Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the significance of Jimmy Bigelow's bugle revealed in Section 5, Chapter 14? What happens to the bugle?

2. How is Nakamura's death described in Section 5, Chapter 5? What final haiku has he written?

3. What is discovered when Colonel Kota orders the prisoners to be counted in Section 3, Chapter 19?

4. How do the prisoners react when they are forced to watch as Darky Gardiner is killed in Section 3, Chapters 20-21?

5. What is revealed in the letter for Dorrigo from Ella in Section 5, Chapter 18?

6. How are Nakamura's circumstances described in Section 4, Chapter 9? Where does he work?

7. What decision must Dorrigo make regarding Jack Rainbow in Section 3, Chapter 17? What does he decide?

8. What stops Colonel Kota from beheading Darky in Section 3, Chapter 15?

9. Whom does Nakamura pay a visit to in Section 5, Chapter 2? Why?

10. How are the lives of the POWs described after they return home from the war in Section 4, Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author’s depictions of gender in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. What were gender expectations like for women in the 1940s when the novel takes place? Do you think that the women in the story adhere to those gender standards? Why or why not? Are the women in the novel portrayed as three-dimensionally as the men?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the themes of cultural contrasts, loyalty, and patriotism in the novel. How would you describe the cultural differences between the Japanese soldiers and the Australian soldiers in the narrative? How does Dorrigo perceive the loyalty of the English soldiers at the nearby camp? How are the concepts of loyalty and patriotism illustrated in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss the character of Tiny Middleton in the novel. Why do you think Tiny refuses to work slower despite the struggles that his fellow POWs face in keeping up with him? What causes Tiny to collapse at the worksite? How is Tiny perceived by the other POWs when he cries after being beaten?

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