View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the boy in Chapter 31 do involuntarily from time to time?

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

3. In Chapter 45, what does Paul Berlin recall is the last word he ever said to Cacciato?

4. What famous military leader dies in Chapter 43?

5. As he marches with Third Squad in Chapter 31, what does Paul Berlin plan to do in the coming weeks?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Third Squad gain control of the VW van?

2. Why does Third Squad intensify its search for Cacciato in Chapter 44?

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

4. Why does Stink Harris jump off the ship at the end of Chapter 38?

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

6. How does Third Squad escape execution in Chapter 36?

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

8. Describe the girl from California in Chapter 40.

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

10. Describe Cacciato in Chapter 31.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Sarkin Aung Wan. How does she first appear to the reader in the narrative, and what are her origins as a fictitious creation? Why does Paul Berlin feel the need to add her to his war story? What purpose does she serve in his life? Analyze their final debate determine her function in Paul Berlin's delusion.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 959 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample