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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. How many houses are there in Rocktown?

2. What does Jonathan think as he and the Hessians begin walking on the road?

3. What has happened to Jonathan's clothes as a result of the battle?

4. What facial feature does the tall Hessian have?

5. What happens when Jonathan tries to stand up when is alone after the battle?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jonathan begin to understand what the Hessians are saying to him?

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

3. Once he has been taken prisoner, how does Jonathan try to guess the thoughts of his captors?

4. How does the feeling of Jonathan's gun in his hands change as he prepares to fire upon the Hessians?

5. How is the Corporal described at the beginning of the story?

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

7. What new questions does Jonathan ask himself just before the battle begins?

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

9. What makes Jonathan feel that the world has grown very small when he is with the Hessians?

10. Why does Jonathan lie to the tavern keeper about having permission from his father to fight?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of the language barrier between Jonathan and the orphaned child? What other communication difficulties does this mirror? How would the plot have advanced differently if the boy had been able to tell Jonathan his story?

Essay Topic 2

What does the author accomplish by having the Hessians use a language that Jonathan cannot understand, but the reader can? How would the scene in which Jonathan is first taken prisoner be altered if Jonathan understood what his captors were saying? What impact would this have on the reader's experience?

Essay Topic 3

Trace Jonathan's thoughts, feelings and reactions toward the Corporal throughout the book. At what points does Jonathan trust him, and at what points does he exhibit doubt and uncertainty? What part does the Corporal play in Jonathan's ultimate character shift at the end of the book?

(see the answer keys)

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