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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 does Fowler tell Vigot he should have become?

2. Who does Fowler run into in Tanyin?

3. What takes Fowler's mind off Pyle and Phuong for a few minutes?

4. Why does Pyle want to take Phuong to America to get married?

5. What has made Vigot's day so long and tiring?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Fowler wish he had had the guts to do while Vigot was there?

2. Who are the Caodaists and why does Fowler go to where they are?

3. What trouble is Pyle having when Fowler runs into him on this trip?

4. What does Fowler witness with Mr. Heng who had called him to big store at the corner of Boulevard Charner?

5. What happens right after two American girls walk out of the Pavilon?

6. What happens to Fowler in that situation?

7. What is the gist of Helen's letter to Fowler?

8. What does Fowler mean when he tells Vigot that York Harding in the man who killed Alden Pyle?

9. Why is Pyle upset that the bomb had gone off that day?

10. What important person does Fowler meet at the insistence of Dominguez?

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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