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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 was the name of the rebel South's first martyr?

2. How does Martina react to Sarat earning $100 by going into Emerald Creek?

3. What kind of pet do Sarat and Marcus keep in an abandoned tent?

4. What is Marcus Exum doing when Martina meets him?

5. What kind of clothes do the refugees wear to the service in the chapel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Sarat and Marcus discover on the riverbanks of the rebel camp, and how does it frighten them?

2. What is the significance of the weapon that Albert Gaines gives to Sarat?

3. Explain what Martina does in the evenings for recreation.

4. What is the reaction Gaines has after he catches up with Sarat after the massacre at Camp Patience?

5. Explain why Sarat earns the nickname of Payday.

6. Explain where the South gets most of its provisions.

7. Explain the narrator's vocation and how it affects his telling of the story.

8. What is apricot gel?

9. What did Albert Gaines' father mean when he told his son to go into "blood work"?

10. Who was Gerry Tusk and how does he relate to the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the one act that caused people to say Sarat singlehandedly changed the course of the war.

Essay Topic 2

Define the literary term "motif" and discuss how the motif of smell is used in at least four examples in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the background of the author of American War. Give three ways that his background affected his writing style and his story-telling ability.

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