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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. How long have Kumiko and Toru Okada been married at the beginning of the novel?

2. What animal inhabits the disgusting island that is the subject of Toru Okada's metaphorical story in Chapter 3?

3. In Chapter 16, Toru and the man with the guitar case fight with what weapon?

4. What is Toru Okada's duty working with May Kasahara in Chapter 9?

5. In Chapter 11, Toru Okada is surprised to find packaging for what in his waste-basket?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Toru Okada stay in the well longer than he intended?

2. What information does Malt Kano provide Toru Okada in their first meeting in Chapter 3?

3. What two requests does Creta Kano make of Toru Okada in Chapter 14 and how does he respond?

4. How does pain return to Creta Kano's life?

5. How does May Kasahara describe her situation in Chapter 5?

6. Describe Toru Okada's dream at the end of Chapter 16?

7. Why do Koru and Kumiko Okada meet with Mr. Honda?

8. Why is Lieutenant Mamiya uncomfortable with his mission with Yanamoto?

9. Describe Toru Okada's life at the beginning of the novel.

10. Describe Nutmeg.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Regularly throughout the novel, characters discover something deeply spiritual about themselves, brought about by their close proximity to death. Write an essay about three of these instances and their meaning in the novel:

Part 1) Describe the harrowing experience Lieutenant Mamiya experiences in Mongolia. How is he affected by his day in the dry well before being rescued? What changed in his outlook of the world?

Part 2) At what point does Creta Kano, after years of constant and unremitting pain, achieve some type of relief? What does this transition have to do with a proximity to death? How is this change connected to her eventual, more ethereal profession?

Part 3) When does Toru Okada develop the blue-black mark on his face? What traumatic and somewhat dangerous occurrence does this follow? What new and spiritual powers does this mark seem to imbue Toru with?

Essay Topic 2

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is replete with images of imperiled children such as young Nutmeg, Kumiko, and her sister, Cinnamon. Write an essay about the world of the novel as a place when the innocent are not safe, focusing on three wounded adults who are trying to escape childhood traumas. What trauma is each trying to escape? How does this fear lead each to make an equally destructive choice in adulthood? In conclusion, what is Murakami saying about the relationship between childhood and adulthood?

Essay Topic 3

Lieutenant Mamiya has perhaps the most extended personal narrative of the novel after Toru Okada. By the end of the novel, we know exactly what happened to Mamiya, in detail during the war. Write an essay, beginning with an overview of the travails this man faced in China, Mongolia, and Eastern Russia. ow did he survive, and what malicious figure continued to cross paths with him? What experience did Mamiya have in the war that was similar to Toru's? In conclusion, how is Mamiya's life a warning to Toru?

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