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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 the beginning of Part 2, Chapter 3, what is Conn complaining about in the officer's mess hall?

2. In the beginning of Part 1, Chapter 1, some of the men are playing poker. Which card player wins 100 Australian pounds?

3. During Red's flashback the reader learns that Red began work at an early age. What type of work did Red do from age 13 to 18?

4. Who does Cummings blame for him not knowing the severity of the storm?

5. Wilson tells the men he has another woman in Kansas. What is his reason for liking her more than his own wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were the soldiers in so much shock when Hearn is shot?

2. In the opening scene, some of the men are playing cards. How does this card game reveal pieces of the men's personalities?

3. How are Croft's instructions to Martinez regarding his mission to inspect the mountain pass deceiving toward Hearn?

4. What do the soldiers carry on their backs through the jungle and how much does it weigh?

5. How did Stanley get money before the war and what are the other men's reaction to this method?

6. Why does Cummings begin to lose control of the men and what were his feeling about this?

7. Why is Dalleson tasked to prepare the logistics for the attack on Toyaku Line?

8. How does the narrator describe the pace of Ridges and Goldstein as they carry Wilson through the jungle?

9. Describe the men's tents.

10. In Part 1, Chapter 2, why is Martinez compared to a deer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

By the end of the book, the American troops learned that they had the advantage. Additionally, Cummings felt useless intelligence and incompetent men were the reason he did not feel successful. Were the reasons giving by Cummings for his feelings of failure justified? Explain you answer using examples from the book based on Cummings character and his actions.

Essay Topic 2

Mailer uses a common literary tool of a flashback in a very unusual way. This purpose of this method is to provide the reader with additional information about the characters.

1) What is the time machine?

2) How does Mailer use this story telling method for character development?

3) Do any of the character learn anything from remembering their past and comparing it to the present?

Essay Topic 3

The men were inundated with fighting, illness, death, and injury while on the island. These events seem to cause each man to think about his own life and his own chances of leaving the island alive.

1) What are some of the superstitions held by the men on the island?

2) Do these superstitions serve as a type of foreshadowing?

3) Explain your answer by providing examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 800 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample