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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. How far is Haditha from Baghdad?

2. Who tells the narrator about his experiences in the Vietnam War in "In Vietnam They Had Whores"?

3. For whom did Boylan ask the narrator to write a citation after his death in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

4. Why was Waguih kicked out of his family home?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does the narrator think about when he passes the medic tent in “Ten Kliks South”?

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

5. What conversation takes place between Wilson and Jessie in the end of “War Stories”?

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

7. What “clues” are described to indicate the presence of prostitutes in “In Vietnam They Had Whores”?

8. Who is James Vockler and how does his death impact the narrator in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

9. How would you describe the narrative style of “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”? What takes place in the opening 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 themes of lying or exaggeration in “Bodies.” Why does the narrator lie about or exaggerate his stories of the war? How do his lies and exaggerations differ for different people? What is the truth of his experiences?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the characters of Waguih and Zara in “Psychological Operations.” What are the actions, objectives, and obstacles of each character in the story? What is the emotional driving force for each of these characters? What do they each represent symbolically in the story?

Essay Topic 3

Why does the narrator of “OIF” make the decision to redeploy? What alternatives does he face? What does he hope to gain from his redeployment? How does this decision affect his life?

(see the answer keys)

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