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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 brand new item does the Woman in the Purple Skirt look at on the bus as the narrator watches from the back?

2. What does the narrator realize she forgot when she came to work on the Woman in the Purple Skirt's third day?

3. What does the director tell the Woman might happen if she continues to do so well at work?

4. How do the staff behave around the Woman when she wears her perfume?

5. What does one of the girls in the park say she has at home with the hotel logo on it?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator know the Woman in the Purple Skirt met the director on her day off from work?

2. What rumor does the narrator overhear about the Woman in the Purple Skirt?

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

4. What happens on the morning bus when the narrator notices a bit of rice on the Woman in the Purple Skirt's jacket?

5. What happens when Supervisor Tsukada confronts the Woman in the Purple Skirt about the stolen hotel items?

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

7. What happens when the staff learn someone is selling hotel items at the local bazaar? Who do they think is behind it?

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

9. 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?

10. What do the Woman and director do at the bus stop after the bar? What does the director learn he lost? What happened to this item?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay discussing the hotel setting in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. In what ways does this setting impact the narrative and the themes of obsession and loneliness?

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

Write an analysis of the theme of invisibility in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. How is this theme expressed in the novel and why is it important?

(see the answer keys)

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