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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 Donju suggest about the British and the men of the Real Compañía Irlandesa?

2. What do Sharpe and Harper find in other cottages?

3. What are the two Frenchmen in the village doing when Sharpe arrives?

4. How many men desert from the Real Compañía Irlandesa the first night?

5. Why does Sharpe think the men desert?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is with the Portuguese and why is Sharpe happy about that?

2. Where are the Real Compañía Irlandesa sent and how do the soldiers feel about their situation?

3. What is Juanita's job with the Real Compañía Irlandesa?

4. How does the Portuguese battalion arrive, with whom does Sharpe meet, what kind of man is he and why is the battalion there?

5. What does Loup tell Ducos about Sharpe and how does Ducos feel about Loup's disclosure?

6. What does Sharpe see from the hill he is on, and what does he decide to do about it? What changes his decision?

7. What is in the letter from the Spanish king to General Wellington that upsets him?

8. What does Sharpe ask Runciman to do and why has he asked him instead of the British command?

9. What does Sharpe see when they arrive at the village where Loup is supposed to be and what does Sharpe do there?

10. What is happening with the Real Compañía Irlandesa that worries Sharpe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A work of fiction is often organized around a structure called a plot. Discuss the following:

1. Define plot and its major parts (rising action, climax, falling action, resolution [or denouement]. Write a sentence or two synopsis of the major plot of the Sharpe's Battle.

2. Identify where the parts of the plot seem to fall in Sharpe's Battle. Explain using examples.

3. Define the literary term "subplot." Write a sentence or two synopsis of a subplot in Sharpe's Battle.

4. Identify the major parts of the subplot you identified in task number 3.

5. Why do you think identifying the plot and elements of the plot is useful?

Essay Topic 2

Choose two of the following and compare and contrast the two people. Include in the discussion their type of leadership, their personality, their morals and whether you would like to serve under them.

1. Massena and Wellesley .

2. Harper and Sharpe.

3. Loup and Sharpe.

Essay Topic 3

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a system of nobility in a country, especially how it applies to the military. For example, both Oliveira and Kiely were high born people in charge of a large number of soldiers and yet were incompetent. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. The class separations in the era of Sharpe's Battle are very distinct and the upper class is basically impenetrable to the lower class. Discuss the implications of Sharpe, the son of a prostitute being able to obtain the rank of lieutenant and the possible ramifications he might have to deal with when interacting with officers who come from a much higher class.

3. Often in this series of novels the upper class officers are presented as incompetent, at best, and dangerous uncaring at worse. What might that portrayal suggest about how the author might feel about wealthy people and the positions they hold in society, whether qualified or not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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