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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 is Paul Berlin surprised to still see in French countryside?

2. In what country is the liner docked when it is searched by police in this chapter?

3. Which member of Third Squad always daydreams abut what he'd do with a million dollars?

4. What holiday does Third Squad celebrate in Tehran?

5. What clothing accessory does Paul Berlin recall vividly about a young,crying Vietnamese girl in Chapter 39?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Cacciato require convincing regarding the Martin murder?

2. Describe the girl from California in Chapter 40.

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

4. Describe Captain Rhallon.

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

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

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

8. How does Third Squad manage to depart the ocean liner at the beginning of Chapter 40?

9. How does Paul Berlin characterize the true war stories he has in Chapter 42?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Midway through Going After Cacciato, Paul Berlin states that a fellow soldier's death can only be classified as a fact. Write an essay on the topic of death in the novel. Is there such a thing as a good death or a bad death in O'Brien's universe or is all death equally meaningless? Is there any difference in the way the author presents Bernie Lynn's death and the execution in Tehran? Is there any intimation from Berlin that there may be something after death?

Essay Topic 2

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

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)

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