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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 does Sharpe say he will slowly dismember?

2. Who actually gets in a bread oven?

3. What does Lawford reveal?

4. What makes Sharpe believe they have no chance?

5. What does Sharpe say he must do?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sharpe discover that the French are nearby when Sharpe's company approaches the Coa River?

2. Describe Almeida.

3. Describe the fight between Sharpe and El Catolico.

4. Why does Sharpe think there is no hope for his company and who saves them?

5. What does Cox say when Sharpe asks permission to leave the fortress?

6. What happens before the telegraph can be sent?

7. What do Sharpe and several others discuss?

8. Who is causing Sharpe problems about moving the gold on to Wellington?

9. What of the Lines of Torres Vedras?

10. What are the losses and who lives after the explosion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cornwell has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think this book qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in the book are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. Do you think the culture of that era is more or less advanced than you imagined? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

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 Cornwells'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 Gold 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 a person of wealth and/or privilege such as Wellington? Contrast that to the lives of those who are in a lower social strata such as Sharpe and Harper or Teresa.

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 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 3

Politics and manipulation influence much of what happens in Sharpe's Gold. Discuss one of the following:

1. Describe the political situation in Sharpe's Gold and how it impacts the actions of three of the major characters.

2. Discuss and analyze several people who try to manipulate Sharpe and his responses to them.

3. Discuss how and why Cox's behavior is related to politics and why his behavior is an example of manipulation. Use examples from the book to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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