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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. Where does Paul Berlin decide he will take a flat when he moves to Paris after the war?

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

3. What finally breaks the unnerving calm at the end of Chapter 16?

4. How does Doc Peret describe the quiet of the village in Chapter 16?

5. What is the next location on Third Squad's journey after Delhi?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What are Sidney Martin's values regarding war as described in Chapter 25?

4. What is the result of Chapter 3's vote?

5. How does the quiet of the village in Chapter 16 become insidious?

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

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

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

9. What does Paul Berlin hope regarding Cacciato?

10. How does Paul Berlin lose Cacciato in Mandalay?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Going After Cacciato, as a novel, is the dueling of two narratives. One, the story of Cacciato's flight to Paris, is beautiful, meaningful, and false. The other, the story of Sidney Martin's murder, is nihilistic, sad, and sadly factual. It is a war story that cannot be told. Write an essay about the dynamic of between these two stories. Why does one necessitate the creation of the other? Why is the latter entirely unsatisfactory as a story? Does it have any substantive lesson to teach?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Going After Cacciato, both the author and the characters in the novel debate the reasons for American involvement in Vietnam. Write an essay about American interventionism, focusing on three instances in the narrative:

Part 1) In Tehran, Third Squad sits down for a drink with Captain Rhallon of the Iranian Savak. Why does he think America is having such a difficult time in Vietnam? How does Doc Peret respond to Rhallon's theory?

Part 2) Write a paragraph about Paul Berlin's promotion review for Spec Four. What reason does the unnamed major give for America's involvement in Vietnam? How does Paul Berlin respond to this?

Part 3) What hypothetical conversation does Paul Berlin hold with the young crying girl in a village Third Squad burned? What does he want to tell her about his reasons for coming to fight in her homeland?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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