View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Caputo as he is crawling on his stomach to get back to his men?

2. What causes the men to name one officer Captain Bligh?

3. What are the three Skyhawks that arrive?

4. How does Caputo recall the two months after the Ha Na experience?

5. What warning does Caputo receive after the destruction at Ha Na?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the condition of the radio when Caputo gets it from inside the bunker?

2. Under assault conditions, what is the assistant adjutant's responsibility?

3. Why are the VC attacking with small arms each night for several days?

4. How serious are the results of the assault?

5. Why does Caputo volunteer for the line?

6. Why is the old Vietnamese man lucky the night of the interrogation?

7. What is so frustrating to Caputo during the trial?

8. What work has to be done as the Regimental HQ is moved to Dai-La Pass?

9. What becomes Caputo's chief responsibility and how does he begin to see himself?

10. What does Corporal Stasek say about the bodies the colonel wants left out for the clerks and General Thompson to see?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a paper about how something that is at first repulsive and horrible can become so common place that it is scarcely given any thought later on. Use Caputo's experience as the Officer In Charge of the Dead. Relate that to civilian activities such as undertakers, doctors and nurses, and other such professions.

Essay Topic 2

A recurring theme in the book is fear. Using examples of extreme fear in the book, write a paper about how fear can cause people to do things they would not normally do. You may want to relate this to a personal example of behavior when you were very frightened.

Essay Topic 3

Using the colonel who had bodies dug up to show a visiting general and the colonel who wanted his horseshoe pitch done during preparations for a VC offensive, discuss in a paper how some people rise to the top without having the necessary qualifications. Discuss in the paper whether you think this is a phenomenon limited to the military.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 743 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample