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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 form of public execution does the Squad attend in Chapter 29?

2. Who does Lieutenant Corson tell Paul Berlin to look out for when the latter says he will be staying in Paris?

3. Who is the gun-chewing boy in Chapter 31?

4. Why does Cacciato like Sidney Martin?

5. Why does Doc declare the Nazis and Japanese lost World War II?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the hypothetical conversation Paul Berlin imagines with the young girl in hoop earrings.

2. What news does Captain Rhallon bring Third Squad at the end of Chapter 33?

3. What implied ultimatum does Sarkin Aung Wan make to Paul Berlin in Chapter 43?

4. What does Paul Berlin rationalize is the essential purpose of the Vietnam War at the end of Chapter 40?

5. How does Lieutenant Martin precipitate his own murder in Chapter 34?

6. Describe Captain Rhallon.

7. How does Doc Peret get Third Squad out of trouble with Iranian authorities in Chapter 29?

8. What shift in power does Lieutenant Corson acknowledge as he speaks to Paul Berlin in Chapter 43?

9. Why does the Squad occasionally march down trails likely to be booby trapped?

10. In Chapter 31, what haunting event happens to Paul Berlin on his first day in the mountains?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay charting the progression of Oscar Johnson. How does he begin as a sympathetic figure - a man who cares for the safety of Third Squad - and slowly become a major antagonist to Paul Berlin? What does Oscar care for primarily? How are his grievances against the cavalier Sidney Martin similar to his grievances against the incompetent and deluded Paul Berlin?

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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