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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 Cornwell say that characters sometimes do?

2. What war in 1799 is the context of "Sharpe's Christmas"?

3. What does Sharpe order from Irati for his men?

4. Who granted Gudin his eagle?

5. What happens when some Frenchmen kick over a barrel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sharpe and d'Alembord see through Sharpe's telescope?

2. Where does Sharpe send his skirmishers? What is the result?

3. What does Hogan tell Sharpe will be his immediate assignment?

4. How did Cornwell feel about writing Sharpe's Christmas, and why did he feel that way?

5. What has Sharpe been doing for the past ten years? Whom does he command? Why? When do Sharpe and his men march? What does Sharpe ignore?

6. How long is each story in Sharpe's Christmas, and why are they that length?

7. What does Sharpe order when the French send in the voltiguers, and what does Sharpe's order tell the French?

8. What are Sharpe and Harper attempting to do for Christmas at the beginning of the story? How is their task interrupted?

9. How does Nicholls feel about Sharpe and Harper? What does he ask them? What is Sharpe's response?

10. Why is Caillou angry at Gudin about the women, and why is Gudin walking?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cornwell is masterful in his description of battles and life in general in for a soldier during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s. Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze Cornwell's descriptive passages about life as a soldier. How does he use descriptions of the five senses to make the reader feel s/he is there? Do you find his descriptions compelling? Seemingly accurate? How would Sharpe's Christmas be different if Cornwell did not include such descriptive passages?

2. Analyze Cornwells's descriptive passages about the social structure of the times and discuss what you think it would be like to be Lucille who was wealthy before the war and now is reduced to living well below her previous level.

3. Describe and analyze Cornwell's descriptive passages about the topographical setting and the physical descriptions of the people. Does Cornwell do an adequate job of actually making the reader "see" the land/sea where the action is taking place? How about getting a visual image of the characters? How does the descriptions of the setting add to the novel? Do you like having an idea of how a character looks? How would the novel be different without such descriptions?

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe's Christmas is one story in a series of novels involving Richard Sharpe. Discuss the following.

1. What are two advantages of writing a series of novels about the same characters? Illustrate your statements with details from the text.

2. What is a disadvantage of writing a series of novels about the same characters? Illustrate your statements with details from the text.

3. Do you prefer to read a standalone book or a series of books with the same main characters? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 3

Most protagonists are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and Richard Sharpe is no exception. Sharpe's legendary powers of military strategy is juxtaposed with his reputation as a womanzier. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze situations when Sharpe demonstrates his prodigious powers of military strategy. Give specific examples to illustrate your analysis.

2. Trace and analyze Sharpe's character flaws offering specific examples of these flaws in your discussion.

3. Discuss how you think Sharpe's admirable traits helped him obtain a high rank in the military despite his background as a child. Have his flaws impacted his career at all? Do any of those under his command seem to notice these flaws? Who? How does the reader know this?

(see the answer keys)

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