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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 east of burden does Stink Harris shoot in Chapter 6?

2. Which of the following characters does not go the MARS system to call home in Chapter 24?

3. What action is Sarkin Aung Wan doing in Chapter 17 when Paul Berlin explains to her that they must catch Cacciato before going to Paris?

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

5. In Chapter 21, the delirious Lieutenant tells Paul Berlin what truth about their situation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paul Berlin succeed in keeping Sarkin Aung Wan with Third Squad?

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

3. How does Third Squad end up on a cart with three Vietnamese women in Chapter 6?

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

5. Describe some ways that the men of the Paul Berlin's platoon organize themselves.

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

7. How does Paul Berlin lose Cacciato in Mandalay?

8. What does Paul Berlin hope regarding Cacciato?

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

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

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

Choose one member of the Cacciato search party and write an essay analyzing his attitude toward the mission. At any point in the mission, does he grow convinced that Third Squad is deserting? What was his attitude toward Cacciato before Cacciato disappeared into the jungle? How does the mission to Paris change this character's attitude toward the world, the war, and his fellow soldiers?

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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