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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. At what time of day does the story begin?

2. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?

3. The conflicting descriptions of the sniper that make him sound both young and mature are an example of what technique?

4. Where does the sniper get shot?

5. Why does the sniper decide that it is safe to move from the rooftop?

Short Essay Questions

1. What causes the sniper to suddenly lose his enthusiasm for the battle?

2. How does the enemy sniper manage to shoot the protagonist?

3. What motivates the sniper to discover the identity of the dead man, and what is that identity?

4. How does the sniper react to being shot?

5. What motivates the sniper to get himself back under control?

6. What happens as a result of the Republican sniper's ruse?

7. What problem is created by the sniper's wound?

8. Who does the sniper kill while he is still waiting to kill the enemy sniper, and why does he kill them?

9. What is the symbolic significance of the O'Connell Bridge and the River Liffey?

10. What is the sniper drinking, and what evidence does the reader have that it is affecting his judgement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the symbolic value of the description of setting in the story's opening paragraph.

Essay Topic 2

What causes the sniper's abrupt change of emotion once he has killed the other sniper? Why does this occur only after he has killed the enemy sniper, and not when he kills the first person, the machine gunner?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the use of the River Liffey as a symbol in "The Sniper." Describe how it appears in the story, background information on the river, and how these two elements combine to create meaning.

(see the answer keys)

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