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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. Who was Mary's dead husband?

2. What is chained in the courtyard where McCandless is standing?

3. Who did the preliminary questioning of McCandless?

4. What does Sharpe talk about with another soldier in Chapter 1?

5. What do McCandless and his Indian escort run into on his way back to the British army?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is Sharpe stationed, why is the British army there and why are the French there?

2. To what duties are Sharpe, Lawford and Mary assigned?

3. What is Sharpe doing with a dead enemy officer and how does his search end up?

4. What does Gudin determine about Sharpe and Lawford and what does he do about Sharpe's wounds?

5. What is the outcome of Sharpe's court-martial and what does Sergeant Green do for Sharpe?

6. What happens during McCandless' encounter and how does it end?

7. Why do they decide Sharpe is a good choice for the mission?

8. What nationality is Mary and what do she and Sharpe talk about when he joins her after the battle? To whom was Mary married when she became a widow?

9. When do Lawford and Sharpe depart, who joins them and why does Sharpe take charge of the mission?

10. What does Sharpe do about his and Mary's conversation?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Sharpe's Tiger" the British are fighting in India, a country which the British has conquered and made a part of the British Empire.

1. Discuss the moral issues surrounding one country conquering another. Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Richard Sharpe is presented as the hero in "Sharpe's Tiger" and yet Tippoo Sultan is fighting for the right of his country to be independent of a conqueror. Discuss the behavior of Tippoo which shows him to be as much of a hero as Sharpe. Use examples from "Sharpe's Tiger" to support your answer.

3. With research compare British invasion and occupation of India with a similar incident that occurs in the 20th. century.

Essay Topic 2

Most protagonists are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and Richard Sharpe is no exception. Sharpe's legendary powers of military strategy is juxtaposed with his reputation as a womanizer. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze situations when Sharpe demonstrates his prodigious powers of military strategy. Give specific examples to illustrate your analysis.

2. Trace and analyze Sharpe's character flaws offering specific examples of these flaws in your discussion.

3. Discuss how you think Sharpe's admirable traits helped him obtain a higher rank in the military despite his background as a child. Have his flaws impacted his career at all? Do any of those under his command seem to notice these flaws? Who? How does the reader know this?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of the following to discuss:

1. Choose two significant symbols and trace and analyze their appearance in "Sharpe's Tiger". Are these universal symbols? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other symbols that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Cornwell chooses the symbols he does?

2. Choose two important metaphors, then trace and analyze their appearance in the novel. Are these universal metaphors? Would they be understood in any culture? Are there other metaphors that would portray the same idea? What are they? Why do you think Cornwell chooses the metaphors he does?

3. Discuss Cornwell's use (or lack ) of literary device (such as foreshadowing, clifthangers, deux ex machina, etc...), and how they add or detract from the story. Does Cornwell use too many or too little literary techniques? State which of the five major elements of fiction the literary device is related to (style, character, plot, setting, theme.)

(see the answer keys)

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