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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 bit of information does Oscar Johnson not give to Cacciato during their parlay?

2. After what mid-west American town is the hotel where Third Squad checks in in Mandalay named?

3. Who first informs the Lieutenant that Cacciato has gone AWOL?

4. What appliance did Doc Peret disassemble as a child?

5. How does Cacciato respond to the Third Squad's lighting a smoke grenade early in their pursuit?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do two men from Third Squad die in Chapter 9?

2. What decision does Paul Berlin make at the observation tower in Chapter 8?

3. In what state is Pederson on the day he dies?

4. How does Sidney Martin aggravate Third Squad in Chapter 25?

5. Why does the Squad take a vote on whether to continue pursuing Cacciato in Chapter 3?

6. Describe Lieutenant Corson.

7. Why do living circumstances become awkward for Third Squad in Delhi?

8. What surprise announcement does the Lieutenant make to Third Squad in Chapter 26?

9. What plans does Paul Berlin make for his return home in Chapter 5?

10. What difficulty arises when Lieutenant Corson tries to leave Li Van Hgoc's tunnel in Chapter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One recurring theme throughout the full Tim O'Brien cannon is the war story. Write an essay about the idea of the war story and its function in the world of the combat serviceman. How is the war story a form of first-aid to the traumatized soldier? When do the characters in the novel bust out their well-developed war stories? How are war stories that are, perhaps, the least factual also the most truthful? Do they add meaning to the meaningless violence of war?

Essay Topic 2

The character of Cacciato in the novel exists on two different planes: the Cacciato that exists, and the the Cacciato that exists in Paul Berlin's mind.

Write an essay about Cacciato as he appears in three different points in the novel. It this appearance real or invented? What is Cacciato doing, and how does this further the story? Does Cacciato seem to have any major objective?

Part 1) Cacciato in Delhi

Part 2) Cacciato outside the prison cell in Tehran

Part 3) Cacciato in the World's Greatest Lake Country

Essay Topic 3

Midway through Going After Cacciato, Paul Berlin states that a fellow soldier's death can only be classified as a fact. Write an essay on the topic of death in the novel. Is there such a thing as a good death or a bad death in O'Brien's universe or is all death equally meaningless? Is there any difference in the way the author presents Bernie Lynn's death and the execution in Tehran? Is there any intimation from Berlin that there may be something after death?

(see the answer keys)

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