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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 medal has Boylan earned in “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

2. How many have died in Rodriguez's battalion in the past four months in "Prayer in the Furnace"?

3. What question does the narrator ask Boylan at the end of “Unless it’s a Sucking Chest Wound”?

4. Who is the narrator of "War Stories"?

5. Who is the priest's former mentor in "Prayer in the Furnace"?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What symbolism is related in the story “In Vietnam They Had Whores”?

6. What does Waguih relate to Zara regarding propaganda in “Psychological Operations”?

7. What does the narrator realize during the memorial in “In Vietnam They Had Whores”?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrator’s relationship with his father in “In Vietnam They Had Whores.” Why is the narrator’s father telling him war stories in the beginning of the story? How does the narrator respond to the stories?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character named “Old Man” in “In Vietnam They Had Whores.” How does the narrator come to know this character? What does the character do in the end of the story? Why?

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?

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