Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Where does the narrator live, and where does his father live?

2. How did the narrator’s mother die?

3. What happened to the narrator’s father’s firm?

4. Who is Watanabe, and how did he die?

5. What does Kikuko tell the narrator she is thinking of doing?

6. At the end of the story, what does the narrator’s father suggest that the narrator could do?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What did the narrator do that seems to have disappointed his father?

2. Why is Kikuko uncomfortable around her father?

3. How are the narrator’s and Kikuko’s relationships with their father different from one another?

4. What does the narrator’s father imply about the death of the narrator’s mother?

5. Why is the narrator confused at first by the photograph of his mother on the wall?

6. What do the father’s remarks about his business partner’s actions—near the beginning of the story and then at the end—reveal about his character?

Recommended Next Reads

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

• Set in Spain, this classic short story depicts an American man and a young woman sitting outside and having an ominous conversation as they await a train.
• Shared themes include Expectations Versus Reality and Gender Roles.
• “Hills Like White Elephants” on SuperSummary

“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

• This short story depicts a dialogue between a mother giving advice to her daughter on how to behave like a proper young woman.
• Shared themes include Gender Roles.
• “Girl” on SuperSummary