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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. Who falls on top of Jonathan's gun in the midst of the battle?

2. Who are the Tories in the story?

3. What does the Corporal do when the men ask about the soldiers from Snydertown?

4. What does Jonathan wonder as he and the Hessians follow the sound they hear?

5. Who holds Alexandria, Fleming and Well's Ferry at the beginning of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Jonathan hope the drum or fife player is younger than he?

2. Why does the youngest Hessian seem safer and more trustworthy to Jonathan than the other two?

3. What happens when the Corporal orders the men to organize themselves into lines?

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

5. Why is Jonathan so eager to join the war effort in the beginning of the story?

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

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

8. Why is Jonathan's father against Jonathan joining the war effort?

9. Why has Jonathan's father prepared him to fight even though he is against it?

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

Discuss the theme of idealism versus reality in the novel. At what points does Jonathan wrestle to resolve his conflicts between the two? How do these experiences ultimately shape his conclusions?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Name at least two points in the story when Jonathan finds it difficult to see because some type of fog (natural or manufactured) is clouding the air. What does this fog symbolize in terms of the realities of war and Jonathan's discoveries about it?

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