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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 is Sharpe told is the estimated number of men that Pot-au-Feu has with him?

2. Why did the Peer choose Frenada as winter headquarters?

3. What does Pot-au-Feu do about the gold Sharpe and Dubreton carry?

4. What is wrong physically with General Nairn at the beginning of the book?

5. What does Sharpe and his group do before locating Lady Farthingdale?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of combat unit has the Prince Regent sent, why has he sent it and how does Nairn feel about it?

2. What does Sharpe urge Farthingdale to do and what does he do? What do the defenders do?

3. What is happening in Andrados at the beginning of the novel and who is doing it?

4. How important is Andrados, where it is situated and what types of protections are in place around it?

5. What does Sharpe do with the prisoners and what bothers him the most about the prisoners as far as who he wanted to capture?

6. Who does Sharpe meet who is head of the rifle company going to Andrados, what is that man like and how does Sharpe feel about him?

7. How does Sharpe feel as Farthingdale is getting ready and what do the defenders of the castle do?

8. What does Lady Farthingdale do when she sees Sharpe?

9. Why is Lady Farthingdale at Andrados, who is with her and what happens to them?

10. Who is Spain at war with and how is the country divided?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Richard Sharpe is in some ways a larger-than-life hero. Despite incredible odds, he usually comes out on top, in Sharpe's Enemy and in the others in the series. Discuss the following:

1. Does having a larger-than-life hero make that person less of a hero? In other words, which is more admirable--a hero who ultimately always "lands on his feet," or one who strives against impossible odds and doesn't always succeed?

2. Does a character have to be successful in order to be a hero? Explain your answer.

3. Choose one other character besides Sharpe who you might call a hero/heroine and explain why you choose that person. Illustrate your statements with examples from the text.

4. Does every work of fiction have to have a hero? Explain your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Most protagonists are a mixture of admirable traits and character flaws, and Richard Sharpe is no exception. Sharpes 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?

Essay Topic 3

Honor is a very important concept in Sharpe's Enemy and in the life of those in the upper class during that era. Sharpe demands honor from Ducos, who declines. Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze the theme of honor in Sharpe's Enemy. What do you think Sharpe would tell you is the definition of honor if you ask him? Do you think honor can be restored if it is lost?

2. Respond to the following statement using specific examples from the book and your own experience: Honor is one of the most important character traits for anyone in any social strata. First fully define the concept of honor, then discuss whether you believe the preceding statement is true with specific examples from Sharpe's Enemy and other books/films, etc... that you have read or experienced.

3. During the era in which Sharpe lives, men could give their word on the basis of being a gentleman and it is assumed to be true. There was no such concept for a lady or anyone of lower social/economic groups. Fully discuss the implications in a society where only gentlemen are considered trustworthy enough to give their word unquestioned.

(see the answer keys)

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