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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. Where does Toru's Chapter 8 dream take place?

2. Who chooses the pseudonyms Nutmeg and Cinnamon?

3. In the beginning of Book 3, why does Toru suspect he has not heard from Kumiko?

4. What does the factory where May Kasahara works produce?

5. What does Toru Okada rename his cat in Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the story of Chapter 13, why does the Russian commander choose not to kill Lieutenant Mamiya?

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

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

5. What does Toru Okada discover while shaving in Chapter 12?

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

7. Why does Creta Kano become a prostitute?

8. What happens when Toru goes to the appointed address in Chapter 4?

9. How does the infant Nutmeg nearly killed in the story of Chapter 9?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The world of Murakami's novel is one in which the spiritually powerful are revered. No one questions the validity of their abilities. In an essay, write about three spiritual seers/healers. What is their place in the plot, and how do they become necessary to other people's lives? With whom in the novel does each interact, and what service do they perform? Is each character viewed by the reader as benevolent or dangerous?

Part 1) Mr. Honda.

Part 2) Malta Kano.

Part 3) Nutmeg.

Essay Topic 2

The central antagonist of the novel is Noboru Wataya, a generally unpleasant but popular politician. Write an essay exploring the character arc of Noboru Wataya. How does he go from malcontent intellectual to beloved politician in such a short period? What is his opinion of Toru Okaka, and Toru's opinion of him? Describe the initial secret that Toru knows about Noboru and how this secret gives rise to a much large incrimination of Noboru Wataya. In the end, does Noboru get what he deserves?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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