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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 did Shige tell Kazu is significant about the day he invited Kazu to his hut?

2. What did Kazu urge his granddaughter not to do in the note he left for her?

3. When Kazo reflects on his life in Tokyo, what does he say he was too busy working to do?

4. What had Setsuko told Kazu not long before her death?

5. Why did Kazu begin having trouble sleeping after his wife died?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Kazu say teenagers had been doing to the homeless around when the homeless former realtor had died?

2. What artist is on exhibit near the Ueno station? Describe his work.

3. How did Kazu respond to the gift Yoko and Setsuko had given him for his 60th birthday and why?

4. Describe the night Shige invited Kazu to his hut for sake.

5. After Kazu discusses his return home when he was 60, he describes Setsuko's life all the years he was away. What does he say she did?

6. Why is it interesting that Kazu's parents died not long after he returned home?

7. Describe the conversation Kazu overhears between two homeless men, one of whom had worked in real estate.

8. Who does Kazu meet at Shinsekai? Describe their relationship.

9. Describe the conversation Kazu overhears between two women at the art exhibit.

10. What note does a jogger leave at the Hanazono Inari Shrine? What other notes are there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing and contrasting Kazu and Shige in Tokyo Ueno Station. 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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss elements of the narrative structure in Tokyo Ueno Station: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,001 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample