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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 does Sharpe expect will happen when he is shipped out?

2. What is Sharpe's and Frederickson's status after being detained?

3. How much of Sharpe's money has Jane withdrawn?

4. What do Fredrickson's men call him in affection?

5. What happens to Sharpe when Lucille draws a pistol on him?

Short Essay Questions

1. To what company is Frederickson attached, what is Sharpe's position in that company and who else of Sharpe's acquaintance joins the company? What event does this enable?

2. What do Sharpe and Frederickson decide to do and how does Harper help?

3. What is Jane doing in London while Sharpe is still in France? What happens to her because of this?

4. What type of situation does Sharpe's group find at Bordeaux?

5. What is Toulouse and who commands it?

6. What do the three friends discuss in Chapter 1 and for what does Fredrickson ridicule Sharpe and the other friend?

7. Who has set up the charges against Sharpe and Frederickson and what do the British authorities know?

8. What does Soult do with Toulouse following the British assault?

9. What happens as Sharpe and the others are about to board a ship in Bordeaux?

10. What does the man Napoleon enlists for help actually do and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The court proceedings in Chapter 5 are a major turning point in the novel; at a stroke Sharpe ceases being a wealthy military hero and commences his life as a penniless fugitive from justice. The parallel development of Sharpe's and Frederickson's demeanors during the proceedings is interesting.

1. Compare and contrast the differences between Frederickson's reactions and Sharpe's reactions at being charged with a crime neither committed.

2. If one was an elitist and believed that whoever is born into a wealthier or more refined family will behave better in almost any circumstance, the demeanors of Frederickson and Sharpe under the proceedings would support that supposition. Discuss this statement using examples from the book to support your opinion as to whether a person born into a certain strata of society will react differently than one born far above or "beneath" him or her.

3. Discuss how you believe you would behave and what you would do if you were in Sharpe's position compared to what he did.

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe, despite his background, is an officer and a gentleman and is therefore accorded more respect and trust even in enemy territory than the common soldier. Discuss the following:

1. Does it seem likely that officers are usually more respectable than enlisted men back then? What about today? Why or why not.

2. Sharpe has begun an affair with another woman while still married to Jane. Do you think this is how an officer and gentleman comports himself? Why or why not.

3. In the present military in the United States, both officers and enlisted can be held for court martial for adultery or having sexual relations with someone of inferior rank. Why do you think this is so? Do you agree with the policy?

Essay Topic 3

Cornwell has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think this book qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in the book are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. Do you think the culture of that era is more or less advanced than you imagined? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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