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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 item do the men find in their search of the train in Chapter 21?

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

3. In Chapter 27, what assumption about himself does Paul Berlin acknowledge is true?

4. In Chapter 9, why does Sidney Martin send Bernie Lynn into the tunnel?

5. What proclamation does Doc Peret repeatedly make as the squad travels on the cart?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paul Berlin lose Cacciato in Mandalay?

2. Why does Third Squad need to leave Delhi in Chapter 26?

3. How does Sarkin Aung Wan react to Paul Berlin's description of their mission?

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

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

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

7. What news does Doc Peret deliver to Lieutenant Corson at the beginning of the novel?

8. Describe Paul Berlin's call home in Chapter 24.

9. What does Paul Berlin hope regarding Cacciato?

10. Why do Stink Harris and Bernie Lynn have a falling out?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many ways, Going After Cacciato is a rumination on the idea of desertion. Paul Berlin longs to walk away from the war, and his fantasy of Cacciato's flight to Paris offers him a window into a desertion scenario. Write an essay about the agonized decision to desert, focusing on three moments in the novel:

Part 1) Why do the men of Third Squad choose to hold a vote on whether to continue the pursuit after they cross into Laos? What arguments are made, and who among the Squad cannot brook the idea of continuing on?

Part 2) When Third Squad is arrested for desertion in Tehran, how does Doc Peret defend them to Captain Rhallon? Why do they personally believe that they have not abandoned their greater mission?

Part 3) Sum up the Paris debate held between Sarkin Aung Wan and Paul Berlin. How does Paul Berlin defend his decision not to leave Third Squad? What temptation does he overcome?

Essay Topic 2

The action of Going After Cacciato is characterized by long stretches of quiet and peace punctuated by by moments of sudden frenzy and violent panic. Write an essay about the dynamic between quiet and panic, in three parts:

Part 1) Why does Third Squad stop dead in its tracks when it arrives in Delhi? How is Lieutenant Corson affected by the peace of the region, and how do the other men respond? What finally breaks the quiet?

Part 2) How does Paul Berlin settle into Paris life more completely than the rest of the Squad? How does he nearly forget about the War entirely? What finally breaks the quiet?

Part 3) Write a paragraph about the silent village the Squad happens upon? How does the quiet drive the men of Third Squad to the breaking point? What finally breaks the quiet?

Essay Topic 3

In the character of Li Van Hgoc, O'Brien has created a complex portrait of the enemy for Third Squad to encounter, both a victim and perpetrator of Viet Cong cruelty.

Write an essay analyzing Li Van Hgoc and what O'Brien is saying about the nature of oppressive governance. How is Li Van Hgoc a threat to the safety of Third Squad, and why is he so kind and forthcoming? How does his faith illustrate the collective fate of the Vietnamese people in this cruel war?

(see the answer keys)

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