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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. Why does Christopher's driver stop when they are looking for the blind actor's house?

2. What case does Christopher ask Kung about?

3. Where does Christopher meet Sarah on the day they are to leave?

4. What are the date and location of Part IV?

5. Who turns out to be the senior intelligence man?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens at the consulate when Christopher asks to meet with Mr. MacDonald?

2. What does Uncle Philip offer Christopher at the end of their meeting?

3. How is Christopher treated at the police station?

4. What happens to Christopher as he is finishing his lunch on the day he is to leave for Macao?

5. What is Jennifer's proposal for herself and Christopher?

6. Describe Christopher's encounter with Sarah and Sir Cecil at the Lucky Chance Club.

7. How does Christopher spend his afternoon before meeting up with Sarah and Sir Cecil at the Lucky Chance Club?

8. What vital clue does Kung reveal to Christopher?

9. Describe Christopher and Akira's entry into Yeh Chen's house.

10. How does the man driving Christopher to meet Sarah prove to be very useful?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS is written in first person. Why is this the most effective choice for Ishiguro's purposes? Discuss the impact of first person on character and story development.

Essay Topic 2

Choose three examples of Christopher's perception of himself clashing with others' perception of him. What is the effect of this perception gap? Why do you think Ishiguro uses this device?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the development of Christopher Banks. What is the reader led to believe about him at first? What things does Christopher say that encourage the reader to look at him differently? Is he a reliable narrator? How much more does the reader know about Christopher at the end of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 868 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample