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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. What impeding event occurs as the Third Squad crosses the river into Laos?

2. What does Cacciato use as a walking stick in Chapter 25?

3. What does Cacciato leave as a booby trap for Third Squad in this chapter?

4. What item does Cacciato strew on the road to guide Third Squad?

5. In Chapter 22, the author mentions that which man was never expected to survive the war and didn't?

Short Essay Questions

1. What surprise announcement does the Lieutenant make to Third Squad in Chapter 26?

2. In what state is Pederson on the day he dies?

3. How do two men from Third Squad die in Chapter 9?

4. How does Third Squad end up on a cart with three Vietnamese women in Chapter 6?

5. What are Sidney Martin's values regarding war as described in Chapter 25?

6. What decision does Paul Berlin make at the observation tower in Chapter 8?

7. Why does the Squad take a vote on whether to continue pursuing Cacciato in Chapter 3?

8. How does the Squad figure out that they are on the same train that Cacciato took?

9. Describe Lieutenant Corson.

10. What plans does Paul Berlin make for his return home in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay charting the progression of Oscar Johnson. How does he begin as a sympathetic figure - a man who cares for the safety of Third Squad - and slowly become a major antagonist to Paul Berlin? What does Oscar care for primarily? How are his grievances against the cavalier Sidney Martin similar to his grievances against the incompetent and deluded Paul Berlin?

Essay Topic 2

Choose one member of the Cacciato search party and write an essay analyzing his attitude toward the mission. At any point in the mission, does he grow convinced that Third Squad is deserting? What was his attitude toward Cacciato before Cacciato disappeared into the jungle? How does the mission to Paris change this character's attitude toward the world, the war, and his fellow soldiers?

Essay Topic 3

Going After Cacciato, as a novel, is the dueling of two narratives. One, the story of Cacciato's flight to Paris, is beautiful, meaningful, and false. The other, the story of Sidney Martin's murder, is nihilistic, sad, and sadly factual. It is a war story that cannot be told. Write an essay about the dynamic of between these two stories. Why does one necessitate the creation of the other? Why is the latter entirely unsatisfactory as a story? Does it have any substantive lesson to teach?

(see the answer keys)

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