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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 the name of York's theory In which Pyle believes?

2. What does Fowler think is Pyle's obsession?

3. Why does Vigot tell Fowler he is a suspect in the murder?

4. What is Phuong's response when Fowler tells her Pyle had invited himself to Fowler's apartment for a drink?

5. What is strange about Fowler's relationship with Phuong?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Pyle and Phuong dance, how does the conversation go between Pyle and Miss Hei?

2. What is it about Pyle that Fowler cannot put into his cable to his newspaper?

3. When Fowler offers Pyle a drink of whiskey, how does the conversation go?

4. What language does Pyle use that Fowler sees as boyish and naive?

5. What is the conflict between Fowler and Miss Hei?

6. What signifies a difference in dress between the South and the North of Vietnam?

7. The morning after Pyle's murder, what is Phuong's concern?

8. What happens when Pyle invites himself over for a drink?

9. What is so annoying about the letter from Pyle that is waiting for Fowler when he finally gets home?

10. What suggestions does Fowler offer Vigot as to who might have killed Pyle?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write your speculation as to what happened to Phuong and Fowler after the French pulled out of Vietnam. This is a creative writing piece. We know that the French left and the Americans entered the war officially. Fowler was probably more important to his paper than ever. People continued to live in Saigon as the war raged on. When the evacuation came, write your story about what becomes of Fowler and Phuong. Did they get out together? Did Fowler have to leave her there? Did they find a way to slip over into Thailand? Let your imagination run free as you write your extra ending.

Essay Topic 2

Young idealistic men often think of war as something glamorous. Using the descriptions in the book, write a paper about the horrors of war. To do this, use the description of the massacre at Phat Diem, the bomb explosion in Saigon, the ignoble assassination of Pyle, and Trouin's description of the use of napalm. Pyle comes to Vietnam, ignores the advice and observations of men who have been there for years, and idolizes York Harding. Show how this makes him idealistic and sure that he is invulnerable.

Essay Topic 3

Using the Caodaists as an example, write a paper about religious cultism and why you think people join them. There are enough converts to this cult to make it a viable player in the war. Historically, however, there have always been cults and people who flock to them to their own destruction. It is this feature of cultism that gives them their power in numbers. Look up some examples of other cult religions and compare the Caodaists to them.

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