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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 do the British leaders attend on Christmas day?

2. About how many French forces converge on Andrados?

3. What does Farthingdale do with Josefina?

4. What do the French think about Sharpe's forces?

5. What type of attack does the French commander favor?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the French ask for after the British rocket attack?

2. What happens when Dubreton comes up to Sharpe?

3. How does Sharpe react to Farthingdale's announcement and what does he do about it?

4. How do the French respond after the first two attacks?

5. How many forces does Sharpe estimate are arrayed between the French and the British soldiers?

6. Who is spotted in the village that surprises Sharpe?

7. What does Hakeswill do during the battle and after the French are repulsed?

8. What does Sharpe capture first at the castle and how does he do it?

9. Why doesn't the French take the castle?

10. How does Sharpe deploy the rocket artillery and what is the result of the use of them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Most of the entire series of novels concerning Richard Sharpe takes place during the Napoleonic Wars; therefore understanding the political and social situation during that time helps to a greater understanding and appreciation of this book and others in the series. Discuss one of the following:

1. Research and write an expository essay about how the Napoleonic Wars begin and end.

2. Research and write an expository essay about the battles that take place on land between Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars.

3. Compare/Contrast the importance of the British infantry during the Napoleonic Wars to the importance of the British infantry during either WWI or WWII.

4. Write an expository essay on how the Napoleonic War affects the social culture of one of the following countries: Britian, France, or Germany.

Essay Topic 2

One of the main characteristics of Hakeswill is that he seems to like to inflict pain on others. He is absolutely amoral and spends most of his time thieving, raping, and dreaming of murdering those who he dislikes, which is just about everyone.

1. Unfortunately there are a number of people in the world who seem to like to inflict pain on themselves or others. Following research on sadism, discuss why Hakeswill is a sadist with examples from the book.

2. There is obviously deep seated psychological reasons why someone would derive pleasure from pain, either their own pain or someone else. Is it possible that people who feel this way have some common factors in childhood? Discuss reasons from a childhood you think could form a person to become a sadist.

3. There is great debate in criminal justice circles as to whether someone who commits homicide is mentally ill. Some say anyone who kills another human being except in self defense has to be mentally ill because sane people don't kill other people. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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