Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does Malta Kano do on her international travels?
2. Who calls Toru Okada in Chapter 11 immediately before the arrive of Lieutenant Mamiya?
3. At the beginning of Chapter 11, what does Toru remember doing with his father as a child?
4. How did May Kasahara cause her boyfriend's death?
5. Where do Kumiko and Toru Okada meet for their first date?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why does Toru Okada choose to go into the well behind the old Miyawaki house?
2. How does pain return to Creta Kano's life?
3. Describe Toru Okada's dream at the end of Chapter 16?
4. In the story of Chapter 13, why does the Russian commander choose not to kill Lieutenant Mamiya?
5. What happens when Toru goes to the appointed address in Chapter 4?
6. What strange event happens involving a bar folk singer in Chapter 7?
7. What painful admission does May Kasahara make in Chapter 15?
8. What does the unnamed boy see in Chapter 3?
9. How does the infant Nutmeg nearly killed in the story of Chapter 9?
10. What is the Clumsy Massacre of Chapter 9?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Perhaps the most central theme of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is the interconnectedness of humanity and the impossibility of escaping said interconnectedness. Write an essay about several characters' attempts to distance themselves from humanity and how they are pulled back:
Part 1) Why does Kumiko try to alienate herself from her family? How does she go about doing this, and how is she pulled back into the Wataya sphere? To what extent is Kumiko destroyed emotionally and existentially by her return to her family?
Part 2) Why does May Kasahara choose to leave Tokyo, and where does she go? Is this flight indicative of a desire to be separated from the society at large? Who is the only person with whom she maintains communication? How does she rediscover her interconnectedness with society?
Part 3) How is Toru Okada the definition of social alienation at the beginning of the novel? Who does he have in his life, and what does he do with his days? Write out the steps by which he leaves his house and accepts other into his life.
Essay Topic 2
In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami juxtaposes the fantastical with a sort of general malaise that permeates modern Japanese society. Write an essay about this general malaise, describing how it manifests itself in the business world, in politics, and in popular culture. How do both Toru Okada and May Kasahara choose to ignore this malaise? Do they drop out of society? Conclude by discussing how this portrait of Japan reflect the Lost Decade in which the novel is set.
Essay Topic 3
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?
|
This section contains 1,148 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
