Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why is the narrator surprised when he sees the photo of his mother?

A) He was originally in the photo but was cut out of it.

B) She looks very healthy, although his father said she had been sick for years.

C) His mother looks like the ghost he used to see when he was younger.

D) His mother is smiling in the picture despite always being sad.

2. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the narrator and his father?

A) Loving and supportive

B) Strained and distant

C) Rebellious and contentious

D) Aggressive and competitive

3. Why is Kikuko unsure about going to the United States with her boyfriend?

A) She does not want to leave her friends and rely solely on her boyfriend.

B) She knows her father will be disappointed in her if she leaves Japan.

C) Her brother has decided to stay in Japan, and she wants to be closer to him.

D) She plans on breaking up with her boyfriend in the near future.

4. Which example best embodies the theme of Expectations Versus Reality?

A) “I [The narrator] am not sure what my plans will be.” / “To be honest, I [the narrator] hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

B) “For some moments my sister did not move. Then she stepped forward and took an apron hanging from a drawer.” / “Obediently, my sister rose to her feet once more and returned the picture to the wall.”

C) “A man of principle and honor. I respected him [Watanabe] very much.” / “He [Watanabe] took his whole family with him […] He turned on the gas while they were all asleep. Then he cut his stomach with a meat knife.”

D) “My father was a formidable-looking man with a large stony jaw and furious black eyebrows.” / “‘You must be hungry,’ he said. One side of his face had fallen into shadow.”

5. Which of the following best states what the fugu fish symbolizes?

A) The opportunity for immigrants in the United States

B) The love between a parent and a child

C) The divide between the United States and Japan

D) The danger of things left unsaid

6. What is implied about a Gender Role of women in the story?

A) Women are expected to be obedient and quiet and to do household-related chores.

B) Women should enter the workforce and make as much money as possible.

C) Women are expected to go to high school but not attend college.

D) Women should not be forced to do chores around the house if they don’t want to.

7. The narrator’s father says, “But in an aeroplane—well—there was always the final weapon.” What is “the final weapon”?

A) An allusion to Kamikaze pilots

B) A metaphor for his son’s journey to the US

C) A personification of the airplane

D) A symbol for Kikuko’s disobedience

8. Which of the following does the narrator seem to feel guilt over?

A) His father’s firm collapsing

B) His mother’s death

C) His failed relationship with Vicki

D) His sister’s desire to go to California

9. Which of the following is used in this quotation? “But she calmed down somewhat when my father started to question her about Osaka and her university. She answered him with short formal replies.”

A) Hyperbole

B) Direct characterization

C) Simile

D) Indirect characterization

10. Which of the following worsens the conflict throughout the story?

A) The discovery of Kikuko’s smoking

B) The lack of communication between family members

C) The narrator’s constant criticism of his father

D) The father’s obsession with building model ships

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. How does the title of the story connect with the theme of Expectations Versus Reality?

2. Why does Watanabe’s death evoke various reactions in different characters?