View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Osamu say about Koichi at the funeral that Kazu was not aware of?
(a) He and Koichi did not always get along.
(b) Koichi always talked about his father.
(c) Koichi was engaged.
(d) He and Koichi were best friends.

2. How much money does Kazu send him to his family when he first moves to Tokyo?
(a) 1000 yen a month.
(b) 250,000 yen a month.
(c) 20,000 yen a month.
(d) 20 yen a month.

3. How often did Kazu visit his children when they were young?
(a) Once a month.
(b) Every other week.
(c) Every holiday, birthday and special occasion.
(d) Once in summer and once in winter.

4. How old were Kazu's children when he left for Tokyo?
(a) 21 and 24.
(b) 10 and 12.
(c) 14 and 18.
(d) 3 and 5.

5. What event coincided with the birth of Kazu's first son?
(a) The start of the war.
(b) The death of the Emperor.
(c) The birth of the prince.
(d) The death of Kazu's father.

6. What did Osamu say about Koichi when he looked at his face after Setsuko removed the white cloth?
(a) He looked so much like his father.
(b) It looked like he was sleeping.
(c) It did not look like him.
(d) He was such a kind person.

7. How old was Kazu when he died?
(a) 13.
(b) 31.
(c) 9.
(d) 21.

8. What does the homeless man tell the homeless woman he will do if he wins 5,000 on the horse race?
(a) Get a hotel for the night.
(b) Buy a new jacket.
(c) Split the money with her.
(d) Get a cat.

9. What are some of the ways Kazu recalls getting food when he was homeless?
(a) Kazu would raid trash cans outside of restaurants for food.
(b) His family would bring him care packages every month.
(c) Kazu and others would steal from markets.
(d) Restaurants would leave food out and missionaries would serve them a few days a week.

10. What is one thing Pure Land followers did that angered the natives in Soma?
(a) They worked even during Nomaoi festival.
(b) They honored their dead in a way the Soma did not believe in.
(c) They built reservoirs.
(d) They prayed day and night.

11. What would Kazu do to help his family during his time off from harvesting kelp?
(a) He would fix things around the house.
(b) He would harvest rice.
(c) He would sell newspapers.
(d) He would take his kids on a trip to give his wife a break.

12. What did the priest tell Setsuko is "humanity's worst impulse" (72)?
(a) To dwell too much on the past.
(b) Not allow themselves time to mourn.
(c) To try to forget the dead.
(d) To try to imagine a loved one's final moments.

13. Why does Kazu think of his family when he passes the Statue of Times Forgotten?
(a) Because he feels his time with them is being forgotten.
(b) Because they used to go there often when his children were young.
(c) Because it depicts a woman with her children.
(d) Because it depicts a man who looked like his father.

14. What is Kazu's wife's name?
(a) Mari.
(b) Setsuko.
(c) Koichi.
(d) Yoko.

15. What is the name of the park Kazu haunts and used to live in when he was alive?
(a) Tokyo Rose Garden.
(b) Ueno Arboretum.
(c) Ueno Imperial Gift Park.
(d) Tokyo Station Public Park.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Kazu hear two women joke about when discussing toy poodles?

2. Why was Kazu unable to take his children on a helicopter ride in Haramachi during the Bon holidays when they were young?

3. What did Kazu notice as he stared at his son's face after he died?

4. What unusual fact do readers learn about the narrator at the start of the story?

5. What did the priest tell Setsuko people should do when someone dies rather than mourning them?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 722 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample