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

2. How early does the Woman in the Purple Skirt leave for the bus on the first day of her new job?

3. What does the Woman do with the children in the park after her first day of work?

4. Why did the narrator throw away the stick of gum her classmate once gave her in junior high school?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways does the Woman in the Purple Skirt remind the narrator of her sister? What is the narrator's relationship with her sister?

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

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

4. What does the narrator leave on the Woman's park bench to assist in her job hunt?

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

6. Who is Mei-chan and how does she relate to the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

7. 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?

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

9. Describe the training the director gives to the Woman in the Purple Skirt on her first day,

10. Where does the Woman in the Purple Skirt live? What does this place reveal about the Woman?

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 comparing and contrasting the narrator and the Woman in the Purple Skirt. What details help develop their character and what do these details tell you about them? What is their background? How do they know each other? How do they interact? In what ways are they similar or different? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

(see the answer keys)

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