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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 are they debating in the opening to chapter 23?

2. What do the Partisans do?

3. Who does Sharpe say he will slowly dismember?

4. What has Sharpe been told about the gold?

5. Where does Hogan say Sharpe will not go?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Lossow happy?

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

3. What does Sharpe say to Hogan and what is Hogan's response?

4. What happens before the telegraph can be sent?

5. What do Sharpe and several others discuss?

6. Describe the fight between Sharpe and El Catolico.

7. How is Sharpe faring with the wound he receives?

8. Describe Almeida.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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. It is assumed that he will return with the gold intact.

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 has begun an affair with Teresa, a woman he ostensibly is holding as a hostage. 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?

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe accepts the challenge of the duel not only because he is bored, but because he feels he needs to redeem himself somehow. Perhaps by fighting the duel he can erase the mistakes of his past, honor his dead wife, and give himself some peace all at once.

1. Sharpe will participate in a dangerous duel because he feels guilty about his wife. How do you think guilt and reckless behavior are related? Use examples from the book and your own experience to support your answer.

2. Discuss some of the behaviors that teenagers in modern America might have because of feelings of guilt. How efficient do you think these behaviors are in erasing guilt?

3. Discuss constructive actions or behaviors a person might use or do in order to assuage guilt. Would any of these be available to Sharpe? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

In the world of academe, historical fiction is often considered an inferior form of the novel compared to "classic" literature. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think historical fiction might be considered second-rate compared to the classics?

2. Do you think historical fiction has the same elements as the classics? Why or why not?

3. What are the purposes do you think for people reading "the classics"? What are the purposes for people reading historical fiction? Is one purpose better than another? Explain your response.

4. Would you read historical fiction even outside an educational setting? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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