The Sound of Waves study guide

Chapters 1-5

1. How big is Uta-jima?

2. What two places on the island have the most beautiful views?

3. What is the primary occupation of the islanders?

4. How old is Shinji?

5. How was he able to graduate from high school?

6. What has happened to Shinji's father?

7. How old is Shinji's brother, Hiroshi?

8. What represents 80% of Uta-jima's yearly catch?

9. What does the Young Men's Association do?

10. Who is the father of the girl Shinji has seen?

11. How does Shinji finally meet Hatsue?

12. Why does Shinji ask Hatsue not to mention their meeting?

13. How do Shinji, Hiroshi, and mother remember their father's death?

14. Who finds Shinji's lost paycheck?

Chapters 6-10

1. Describe the lighthouse keeper and his wife.

2. Why does Hatsue visit them?  Why does Shinji visit them?

3. Who is the third party introduced in this chapter?

4. Why does Shinji refuse to stay at the lighthouse keeper's, and why is Hatsue angry?

5. What was Shinji going to do?

6. What are Shinji's dreams of the future?

7. Why is the village ablaze with light when Shinji and Hatsue get back?

8. Where does Hiroshi go?

9. Why does the mother  cry?

10. Who catches Shinji and Hatsue together?

11. Why is Shinji's mother so proud of Hiroshi?

12. Who does Chiyoko tell about seeing Hatsue and Shinji together?

13. How is Yasuo discovered as he waits for Hatsue?

14. What does Yasuo do for Hatsue in exchange for her silence?

15. What do Hiroshi and his friends play upon their return to Uta-jima?  Why is this important?

16. What does Hatsue's father do to punish the gossipers?

Chapters 11-16

1. How do Shinji and Hatsue communicate after her father insists that they not see each other again?

2. What did the second letter describe?

3. Who started the false gossip about Hatsue and Shinji?

4. What coincidence takes place regarding Prince Deki?

5. Who does Shinji's mother go to see?  Why?

6. Why was Shinji's mother more lonely than ever?

7. How were Shinji and Hatsue finally going to meet?  What happened?

8. Who won the diving contest?

9. What does the winner do with her prize?

10. Who is going to serve an apprenticeship on the Utajima-maru?

11. Why does Shinji accept a berth on the ship?

12. Why does Yasuo say when he is caught shirking his responsibilities aboard the ship?

13. Why does Shinji dive into the ocean during the typhoon?

14. Why does Chiyoko refuse to come home for summer vacation?

15. What does Chiyoko ask her mother to do?

16. How does Hatsue's father surprise Chiyoko's mother?

17. Does the ending seem abrupt to you?  Why?  What happened?