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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 Jonathan think would make him feel better while he and the Hessians are resting?

2. What has happened to Jonathan's shoes as a result of the battle?

3. What happens as the Americans and Hessians begin shooting at one another?

4. How is Jonathan feeling when the group of soldiers reaches the crest south of Rocktown?

5. What is the tavern made of?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the American soldiers feel as they see the enemy soldiers approach?

2. How does Jonathan feel about Hessians, as opposed to Tories?

3. What does it reveal about the soldiers when one of them shoots into the air as a joke?

4. What does Jonathan's identification with the word "soldier" (spoken in German by the Hessian) lead him to feel?

5. Does Jonathan have a realistic idea of what war entails at the beginning of the story?

6. How do the soldiers react to the woman in Rocktown when she runs away upon learning that enemy soldiers are on their way?

7. What is Jonathan's perception of the enemy soldiers as they come in closer range?

8. What has Jonathan heard about the Hessians' reputation for how they treat their prisoners?

9. How does Jonathan feel about his performance in the battle?

10. In what way are Jonathan's feelings about the Corporal different than those of the other soldiers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does the author present the youngest Hessian as being so much more decent than the other two? What does this reveal about the author's vision of youth, and how does it relate to Jonathan's youth?

Essay Topic 2

When the Frenchman explains to Jonathan that soldiers either kill or get killed, what is it about Jonathan's experience that leads him to believe that it may not be this black-and-white? How has Jonathan's notion of what it means to be a soldier changed?

Essay Topic 3

Trace Jonathan's relationship to his borrowed rifle throughout the story. What does his relationship to this object symbolize about who he is at various points in the story? Specifically, what is the symbolism of his destroying it at the end?

(see the answer keys)

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