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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 left a message for Kazu to tell him his son died while he was working in Hokkaido?

2. How much education did Kazu complete before going to work to help support his family?

3. How did Kazu and Setsuko know each other prior to getting married?

4. How was Kazu's behavior at Koichi's funeral different from his mother and daughters?

5. What happened to much of Kazu and his family's things right around Koichi's birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Kazu and his father, mother, and wife each do to support and feed the family around the time his first son was born?

2. Who is Osamu and how did his presence at Koichi's funeral make Kazu feel?

3. What does Setsuko wonder about her son's death and how does the priest respond?

4. Who is Kazu and what is he doing in Ueno Station at the start of the novel?

5. What did Kazu's ancestors believe happened to the dead?

6. Why does Kazu ultimately decide to move to Tokyo to work when his children are young?

7. How does Kazu feel about his life on earth as described at the start of Tokyo Ueno Station?

8. What was Kazu's relationship with his children like while he was working in Tokyo?

9. Describe the conversation between the homeless man and woman after the woman repeats her disbelief that Shige is dead.

10. What does Kazu's father say to the tax officials who came into their home and marked property to be repossessed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing Yu Miri 's language style and word choice in Tokyo Ueno Station. What are some words that stand out to you and why? What words are repeated? What words are most impactful? Explain your answers.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay examining the ending of Tokyo Ueno Station. How did the ending fit into the storyline? Do you think the ending was effective? What theme might the ending represent? What might the author have done differently?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 758 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample