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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. Who are Teresa and Ramon?

2. Why does Sharpe have his men make as much noise as possible?

3. To what does El Catolico admit?

4. What does Sharpe think about El Catolico?

5. Who kills the French Colonel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Harper and Sharpe capture an enemy lancer, and how does Teresa help them escape from the rest of the lancers?

2. Describe the encounter between Sharpe and Ayres.

3. Describe Sharpe's company's escape from the village where the gold was.

4. Describe Sharpe and Moreno's conversation.

5. Who is Michael Hogan and what does he tell Sharpe about Sharpe's mission?

6. Describe the scene when Sharpe apologizes to Ayres.

7. Why are Sharpe's men angry and sad as they enter the village?

8. Who does not agree with most of the others, but why is that not obvious?

9. Describe Sharpe's discussion with Wellington.

10. How do Sharpe and Teresa begin a romance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sharpe's Gold is one book 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 2

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation when Sharpe's men think he is torturing Teresa when he is involved with her romantically.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use and meaning of five symbols you choose to analyze from Sharpe's Gold. What do they symbolize? Is the symbolism obvious? Effective? Does the symbolism contribute to the enjoyment of reading?

3. Discuss five literary devices that occur in Sharpe's Gold and how they are used. Are they effective? Do they add or detract from the reading of the book? Why or why not. Some possible techniques: Allusion, connotation, denouement, dialogue, flashback, figurative language, motif, metaphor, narrator, point of view, simile, mood, and puns.

Essay Topic 3

There are a number of literary techniques evident in Sharpe's Gold. Discuss the following:

1. Look up and define the literary technique called "narrative contrivance." Where do you think narrative contrivance occurs? Why? Give two examples and analyze them to see if the author has to come up with something to "save the day."

2. Does the use of narrative contrivance diminish the impact of the plot? The believability of the storyline?

3. Is there any other way Cornwell could have a mixture of suspense and action while at the same time making certain the main characters are not killed?

(see the answer keys)

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