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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 award did the deceased friend of Boylan receive posthumously in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

2. Where has the narrator completed law school in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

3. What kind of music does Waguih describe the American troops playing on loudspeakers in Iraq?

4. What is Jessie's disability in "War Stories"?

5. Why did Waguih join the military?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Waguih represent in “Psychological Operations”? What was Waguih’s role in the military?

2. How would you describe the narrative style of “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”? What takes place in the opening of the story?

3. Describe the narrative style of “In Vietnam They Had Whores.” What is happening in the beginning of the story?

4. What symbolism and themes are related through the story “Ten Kliks South”?

5. How does the theme of guilt apply to Wilson in “War Stories”?

6. How does the narrator describe the statistics of Rodriguez’s battalion in “Prayer in the Furnace”?

7. How are the prostitutes from the Vietnam War described in “In Vietnam They Had Whores”?

8. How is Jewett described in “Ten Kliks South”? What is Jewett’s central conflict?

9. What does Boylan relate of his career in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”? What does the narrator ask Boylan at the end of the story?

10. What does the narrator represent symbolically in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the relationship between Rodriguez and the priest in “Prayer in the Furnace.” Why does the priest relate to Rodriguez’s anger? How does the priest go about helping Rodriguez? Is he successful? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the narrator of “After Action Report.” What is the arc of this character? What initiates changes in the character? How do these changes manifest?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Rachel in “Bodies.” What does Rachel represent symbolically for the narrator? How has Rachel influenced the narrator’s actions? What is symbolized by her absence at the end of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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