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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. What does the director announce to the staff just as Supervisor Tsukada is telling them how drunk the Woman in the Purple Skirt got two nights earlier?

2. How late is the Woman in the Purple Skirt for work on her fourth day after the incident on the bus?

3. What do the director and the Woman discuss on the bus after their date?

4. What does the bus driver do after the Woman in the Purple Skirt announces her accusation?

5. What does the narrator hear the staff saying about the Woman in the Purple Skirt after she had been working there for awhile?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator annoyed with the way the Woman explains the bus incident to the director and others? What does she imagine doing the next time she has a chance?

2. What does the narrator imagine would happen if passersby knew they had passed the Woman in the Purple Skirt and that she was with a man?

3. What do the staff say the morning the Woman in the Purple Skirt is late for work? What does Supervisor Tsukada tell them they had done with the Woman a couple nights before?

4. How does the staff behavior toward the Woman change after they find out about her affair with the director? How does the Woman respond?

5. Why is the narrator more likely to see the Woman at the park than at work after the Woman completes her training?

6. What leads the Woman to leave the hotel and never return?

7. Describe the conversation between the Woman and the director when she apologizes to him for being so late to work the morning of the bus incident.

8. How does the Woman find out that somebody is selling hotel amenities at the local bazaar?

9. Describe the conversation between the Woman and Supervisor Tsukada about the hotel shampoo and why the Woman does not use it.

10. How does the narrator come to memorize the director's home phone number?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Away from the main character examine the way the author uses the other characters in the book. When does she introduce and take them away from the story? What effect does it have on the story?

Essay Topic 2

Write a detailed analysis of tone in Imamura's The Woman in the Purple Skirt. Include whether the tone changes or remains the same. If it changes, include details on when, why and whether this change is effective.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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