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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 narrator imagine doing to the Woman on the bus after the incident the day before in order for them to finally become friends?

2. What do the staff discuss after the monthly meeting when they gossip about the director and the Woman's affair?

3. How did the Woman in the Purple Skirt react when she and the narrator collided outside of the elevator one day at work?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Why does the narrator go to work on her day off on the Woman's third day of work? Why does she return home?

6. 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?

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

8. What do the director and the Woman do while at the bar? Does anyone speak to them? If so, what do they say?

9. 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?

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

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 commentary on the theme of loneliness in The Woman in the Purple Skirt. How is this theme important to the story? How does it affect the narrative? Use textual evidence to explain your analysis.

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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