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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 New Year's gifts does Stephen receive from his family?

2. What does Stephen's father promise to send him?

3. Why do Stephen and Matsu initially go to Yamaguchi?

4. Where is Kenzo's body found?

5. Where does Matsu invite Stephen after his father leaves?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Stephen think of Matsu when they initially meet?

2. How does the visit to Sachi impact the relationship between Stephen and Matsu?

3. Describe Sachi's house during the New Year's celebration?

4. What does Stephen think about the impact of the war?

5. How do Stephen and Keiko's father interact when they meet in the village after Kenzo's burial?

6. How does the storm impact Stephen's relationship with Sachi and Matsu?

7. What does Stephen struggle with at the Shinto shrine and why?

8. How did Tomoko's death bring Sachi and Matsu closer?

9. How does Stephen react to the news in his mother's November,1937 letter?

10. What agreement do Stephen's parents seem to come to after his father's visit?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Marriage and fidelity are on Stephen's mind after the revelation of his father's affair. However, both Stephen and his mother seem to accept the new arrangement even if they don't like it. How would the story be altered if Stephen's father had never admitted to the affair? How would it change if Yoshiko had been introduced to Stephen? Would a more detailed history of the marriage between Stephen's parents be pertinent to the storyline? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Stephen is often forced to make choices about confronting situations or staying silent and keeping the peace. For each of the following occurrences, explain why Stephen made the choice he did, what values impacted his chosen course of action, and how it affected both him and others in the long run.

1) His father's affair.

2) Keiko's father.

3) Kenzo's attack on Sachi.

Essay Topic 3

Point of view is an important element of style as this story as told through Stephen's journal. Choose three events in the story that would be dramatically altered if the story was told from a different point of view. Give specific examples that support your assertions. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story through the point of view that she did?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 823 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample