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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. In Chapter 44, who discovers that Third Squad is a military outfit?

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

3. What action does each man in Third Squad perform to signify his agreement in killing Sidney Martin?

4. At the end of Chapter 33, what does the brutal Iranian officer force Third Squad to call themselves?

5. At the beginning of Chapter 31, as Third Squad stops during the march, what does Paul Berlin do?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the girl from California in Chapter 40.

2. What argument does Captain Rhallon make in Chapter 29 regarding the importance of a well-respected mission in War?

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

4. Describe Captain Rhallon.

5. What lesson does Oscar Johnson declare should be learned from Buff's death?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Going After Cacciato is a mixture of fantasy and harsh reality, and the way in which Tim O'Brien interweaves these is as daring as any of the battles in the story.

Write an essay, in which you focus on three moments when fact and fantasy intersect. How does O'Brien make clear to the reader that he is shifting between these two planes? Where do these connections happen, and what characters do they involve?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay detailing how Third Squad is a microcosm for the functional military as a whole, focusing on three allegorical characters and how the rest of the Squad relates to them:

Part 1) Lieutenant Sidney Martin represents the unquestioned mission-focused structure of the military. How is his conception of Vietnam dangerous to his men and incompatible with reality? How does Third Squad respond to him?

Part 2) How Oscar Johnson a response to Sidney Martin? Does he represent unofficial standard operating procedure? In what ways is he the most powerful figure in Third Squad as a result?

Part 3) If Martin and Johnson represent the most unyielding of war, how does Doc Peret represent the flexible compassion that combat engenders? What actions does he take that illustrate this?

Essay Topic 3

Three times over the course of the Cacciato pursuit, Third Squad escapes certain death with little or no explanation as to how their salvation came about. Write an essay about these instances and what they say about the nature of the Cacciato war story:

Part 1) What does the Squad discover in the VC tunnels on the Vietnam-Laos border? How does this experience inform Paul Berlin's understanding of the enemy, and how - in the end - does Third Squad escape the tunnels? Where do they emerge?

Part 2) How does Third Squad nearly die in Tehran? What eventually saves them, and to what extent do these rescuing agents seem to appear out of Paul Berlin's mind?

Part 3) Which member of Third Squad disappears when the ocean-liner to Greece is suddenly searched? How do the remaining men manage to escape what seems like an inescapable situation?

(see the answer keys)

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