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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 meet Malto Kano in Chapter 30?

2. Who acted as May Kasahara's sponsor in securing her the factory job?

3. What are the prisoners that the young lieutenant escorts wearing in Chapter 26?

4. Why is Mamiya initially unable to shoot Boris in Chapter 32?

5. How long does Mamiya assist Boris in the prison camp?

Short Essay Questions

1. What offer does Noboru Wataya make Toru Okada in Chapter 13?

2. Describe Cinnamon.

3. How is Toru implicated in an assassination attempt in Chapter 33?

4. What problem does Ushikawa admit with Kumiko's meeting Toru, and how does he solve it in Chapter 19?

5. How does Toru overcome Noboru Wataya in Chapter 35?

6. What does the boy in Chapter 11 find in the bag and what does he do with it?

7. What plans do most women in May Kasahara's factory have?

8. That is Nutmeg's concern in Chapter 24?

9. What happens to Noboru Wataya in Chapter 37?

10. What does Toru realize about his marriage to Kumiko in Chapter 34?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dreams play a key role in the advancing of plot in Murakami's novel. Write an essay, discussing the role that dreams play in Toru Okada's journey. Who does he meet while in a dream state? What new information does he gain from these dreams? Write a paragraph about each type of dream the Toru has over the course of the novel. As a conclusion, discuss whether the dream-world of the novel has any concrete bearing on the waking world.

Essay Topic 2

In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, the protagonist Toru Okada is said to be inextricably linked to the antagonist Noboru Wataya. When one character succeeds, the other fails and vice versa. Write an essay about this connection and how it manifests itself in the plot of the novel. What Is happening in Noboru Wataya's life as Toru Okada is facing the travails of losing his wife? What secrets is Noboru trying to hide, and how does Toru get the upper hand with these secrets? What is the standing of each man at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Communication is a tricky and prevalent theme in the novel. Toru Okada is bombarded with new acquaintances in nearly every chapter of the novel, and they come top him in many different ways. Write an essay, outlining the different ways in which people make contact with the protagonist of the novel. How are the telephone, mail, dreams, and an early internet chat program all utilized? How does this menagerie of different forms of communication lead to ambiguity regarding how is communicating with whom?

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