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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 Curzon describe his regiment eating for dinner after working on the cabin in Chapter 19?

2. What date is denoted at the opening of Chapter 15?

3. Who gives the nod for the soldiers to begin filling Sergeant Woodruff's grave in Chapter 23?

4. Whose letter from Valley Forge is excerpted in the opening of Chapter 23?

5. Who is described in Chapter 11 as "a stoop-shouldered son of a fisherman who liked to draw" (54)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What genre does Forge fall into? What are the qualities of this genre?

2. What are the circumstances surrounding Curzon's enlistment in the army?

3. What is foreshadowed by Burns's promotion to sergeant?

4. Why does Curzon steal spoons and buckles in Chapter 1?

5. From whose perspective is the narrative related? Why do you think the author chose this perspective?

6. What arrives as the Christmas rations in Chapter 19?

7. When is the Prelude set? Where is Curzon when he awakens in the Prelude?

8. How is Benjamin Edwards described?

9. Why does Sergeant Woodruff not want his men to dig in building their cabins? Why does he agree to let them do so?

10. How does the author set up each of her chapters in Forge?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the chapters that are titled "Before" in the novel. What information is related in these chapters? From what narrative point of view are they related? Why do you think the author sets them apart in italics?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character of Bellingham in the novel. Is Bellingham a protagonist or antagonist? Why? What is Bellingham's relationship to Curzon? What becomes of Bellingham?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze and discuss Curzon as the protagonist of Forge. What attributes make Curzon a strong protagonist? What are Curzon's weaknesses? How does Curzon change as a character in the course of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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