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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 religion is General Nairn?

2. What does the army that conquered Andrados do in the town?

3. What happens to the soldiers who accompany Lady Farthingdale?

4. What does Sharpe do with the convent?

5. What does Dubreton's wife say to her husband?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What do Pot-au-Feu and Hakeswill suggest to Sharpe and the others and what are they doing while they talk?

5. What does Lord Farthingdale do when he arrives and what puzzles Sharpe about the situation?

6. What does Farthingdale do when he is injured and what does Sharpe see after he does it?

7. What does Sharpe and Harper do when they first arrive at Andrados?

8. What does Sharpe first do when he takes over his new command and to what conclusions does he come?

9. What happens to the gold Sharpe brought with him and what kind of reassurance does Pot-au-Feu give? What do the men learn from that reassurance?

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

In any book centered around the military, leadership of the troops is often crucial with the better leaders able to command the respect and loyalty of their men. The men's willingness to follow a particularly leader can have a decisive impact upon the success of a mission. Discuss the following:

1. Whose command style seems most effective? Analyze the elements of those effective leaders thoroughly and discuss the traits of the good leaders. What makes an excellent leader/commander? Give examples.

2. Whose command style seems most ineffective? Analyze the elements of those ineffective leaders thoroughly and discuss the traits of the poor leaders. What makes a poor leader/commander? Give examples.

3. Is disobeying a poor leader ever justifiable? Explain using details from the text, other books you have read and your personal experience. In times of war, disobeying an order can be punishable by death. Is this harsh sentence justifiable for such an act? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Sharpe, despite his background, is an officer and a gentleman and is therefore accorded more respect and trust even in enemy territory than the common soldier. Discuss the following:

1. Does it seem likely that officers are usually more respectable than enlisted men back then? What about today? Why or why not.

2. Sharpe blackmails Farthingdale about Josefina in order to obtain command of the forces. Do you think this is how an officer and gentleman comports himself? Why or why not?

3. In the present military in the United States, both officers and enlisted can be held for court martial for adultery or having sexual relations with someone of inferior rank. Why do you think this is so? Do you agree with the policy?

(see the answer keys)

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