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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. Why is the narrator unsurprised that the Woman in the Purple Skirt struggles to get hired?

2. What does the director condemn the staff for in the first meeting on the Woman's first day?

3. What do the Supervisors say when the Woman in the Purple Skirt expresses wonder whether the narrator steals from the hotel?

4. What does Supervisor Tsukada give the Woman in the Purple Skirt at the end of her first day, which is meant for hotel guests?

5. What does the director ask the narrator to do when he sees her in the shadows while he is training the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What type of information does the narrator keep track of regarding the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

3. What does the narrator find after the Woman in the Purple Skirt leaves the park after eating the apple? What does she do with it?

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

5. What does the narrator do while the director is training the Woman in the Purple Skirt during her first day of work?

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

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

8. 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?

9. What surprises the narrator about the Woman in the Purple Skirt after they begin to work together?

10. How do the children at the park interact with the Woman in the Purple Skirt at the park? How does she react to them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick a character from the novel and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Imamura's language style and word choice in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the use of dialogue vs the use of description. How is each used in the The Woman in the Purple Skirt? Explain what makes these uses effective or ineffective.

(see the answer keys)

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