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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 does Supervisor Tsukada describe the job to the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day?

2. What incident at a supermarket resulted in the narrator no longer going to that market?

3. What does the narrator do to help the Woman in the Purple Skirt find work?

4. Who asks the Woman in the Purple Skirt to introduce herself to the staff on her first day?

5. What job does the narrator highlight for the Woman in the first job magazine she leaves for her?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator not surprised when the Woman struggles to get hired?

2. How did the narrator once try to engage with the Woman in the Purple Skirt? What was the result?

3. What does the narrator to do try to get shampoo samples to the Woman? Is she successful?

4. What changes does the narrator note about the Woman when she has a job versus when she does not?

5. What does the narrator overhear Supervisor Tsukada and the director saying about the Woman during her first day on the job?

6. Describe the interaction between Supervisor Tsukada and the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day after she gets her uniform.

7. Who does the narrator follow at the start of the story? Where does she go each week? What does she buy? Where does she sit after?

8. Describe the first monthly staff meeting that the Woman attends. What is the focus? How does she behave?

9. What happens at the park after the Woman sits with her apple after her first day of work?

10. In what way does the narrator feel she may have helped the Woman in the Purple Skirt win over the director and supervisor so quickly?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring the narrator's attempts to get close to the Woman in the Purple Skirt. What plans does she come up with and how are these plans continuously thwarted?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the symbolic significance the narrator's backstory has on the story. Why is this important and how does it develop the themes of the story? What would be different if the narrator had a close-knit family? Use examples from the text to support your viewpoint.

Essay Topic 3

Write a brief essay analyzing the title, The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Explore the ways in which this title connects to the plot and themes of obsession and loneliness.

(see the answer keys)

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