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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. Where does Pickering spend a few days with his wife?

2. When is Koffler promoted to sergeant?

3. Why has Pickering forbid Banning to go behind enemy lines?

4. What is the name of Pickering's rented house?

5. What do MacArthur and Pickering decide about why the chain of command exists?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Pickering see his son and what do they talk about?

2. To what is Ellen promoted and what happens when Pickering comes to her hotel room?

3. What about the military does MacArthur and Pickering discuss when they first meet?

4. What does intelligence intercept reveal about the Japanese plans for the Pacific?

5. What do Barbara and Ernie do the day before Barbara ships out? What are Barbara's plans and how do they change?

6. What is in the letter Pickering sends to Knox in which he also has a request about Banning?

7. What does McInerney want Galloway to do and how does Holcomb respond to that idea?

8. Who does Koffler see at the Elms and what do they discuss?

9. How does the jump with Koffler and Howard go?

10. Who picks up Barbara after she receives her new orders and what do they do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two of the following and compare and contrast the two people. Include in the discussion their type of leadership, their personality, their morals, and whether you would like to serve under them.

1. Pickering and Stecker.

2. Macklin and Harris.

3. Reeves and Howard.

Essay Topic 2

Even though Koffler decided he didn't want to be in parachute school and did not volunteer for a dangerous mission, he ended up parachuting behind enemy lines to take a radio to Reeves. This is courage, doing something in spite of fear.

1. What is courage? It is defined in the dictionary as: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. How is courage demonstrated? Given what you have seen of Koffler, why would one call him courageous? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Discuss two situations, one during war and one during peace, in which a great deal of courage would be needed to endure the situations.

3. Discuss the two sides to the following: Courage can be learned. One is either born with courage or not.

Essay Topic 3

Griffin is masterful in his description of battles and life in general for a soldier during the second world war. Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze Griffin's descriptive passages about life as a soldier. How does he use descriptions of the five senses to make the reader feel s/he is there? Do you find his descriptions compelling? Seemingly accurate? How would Counterattack be different if Griffin did not include such descriptive passages?

2. Analyze Griffin's descriptive passages about the social structure of the times and discuss what you think it would be like to be a person of wealth and/or privilege such as Pickering, or Fowler. Contrast that to the lives of those who are in a lower social strata such as Koffler or Howard to one in service to someone of wealth and/or privilege.

3. Describe and analyze Griffin's descriptive passages about the topographical setting and the physical descriptions of the people. Does Griffin do an adequate job of actually making the reader "see" the land or sea where the action is taking place? How about getting a visual image of the characters? How does the descriptions of the setting add to the novel? Do you like having an idea of how a character looks? How would the novel be different without such descriptions?

(see the answer keys)

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