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. Where does the girl say she has contacts that can help the soldiers escape military duty?

2. What does Captain Rhallon repeatedly say he would rather be doing than legal work?

3. Into what country does Third Squad arrive at the end of Chapter 36?

4. Why does Cacciato like Sidney Martin?

5. What cause of death does Doc Peret give for Billy Boy Watkins?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Third Squad determine happens to Buff's big gun?

2. Describe Cacciato in Chapter 31.

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

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

5. What does Buff's body look like when Cacciato finds it in Chapter 41?

6. Why does Doc Peret have to admit to the Cacciato chase in Chapter 33?

7. Describe Sarkin Aung Wan and Paul Berlin's debate in Chapter 44.

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

In the longer narrative of Going After Cacciato, Paul Berlin invents a number of figures that do not exist.

Write an essay about three of these figures. What function do they serve in the story? Do they stem from any real experience that Paul Berlin has? What do they say about the political or spiritual realities of the Vietnam War?

Part 1) Jolly Chand

Part 2) Captain Rhallon

Part 3) Sarkin Aung Wan

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,011 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample