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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 do when he gets inside the house where the Hessians have been sleeping?

2. How does the soldier who helps Jonathan react to Jonathan's grave-digging?

3. What does Jonathan find interesting about the Corporal's yelling at the Hessians?

4. When does the Corporal want the soldiers to arrive at the house where the Hessians are?

5. What do the American soldiers discuss immediately following the battle with the Hessians at the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event causes Jonathan to reassess whether the Hessians are his friends or his enemies as he milks the cow?

2. What is the significance of Jonathan's telling the Corporal that he wants to go home, and the Corporal telling him that he's needed?

3. What is the significance of Jonathan smashing the borrowed gun to pieces in a fit of rage?

4. Why does Jonathan risk his life and the boy's by bringing the boy to the Hessians?

5. According to the Corporal, how do the boy's dead parents fit into the story as a whole?

6. When Jonathan starts to protest the Corporal's orders, explaining that the Hessians "didn't hurt me," what effect does the Corporal's response have on him?

7. What does the Corporal's reaction to Jonathan and the boy's appearance at the campfire reveal about his character?

8. How do the Hessians treat Jonathan when he is trying to save their lives?

9. Why does Jonathan think he sees himself from the day before when he returns home?

10. What is the significance of Jonathan choosing to find the Corporal instead of killing the sleeping Hessians?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the author's view of war? How does he use the murder of the child's parents to advance this view? What does the Corporal symbolize in regard to the author's view of war?

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

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?

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