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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. Why was Sharpe arrested in Chapter 5?

2. How does Sharpe threaten the Mother Superior?

3. How does Ducos feel towards Helene?

4. What position does Lt. Colonel Leroy hold in the South Essex Battalion?

5. What will happen to Sharpe if he is found guilty?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what the Spanish see during Sharpe's supposed execution.

2. What does Ducos do to set La Marquesa up to do his bidding?

3. Why is Patrick worried about Sharpe in Chapter Three?

4. How did Sharpe survive his death sentence?

5. Why does Leroy confront Sharpe and what does he want Sharpe to do?

6. Why is Angel helping Sharpe and what kind of weapon does he carry?

7. What sentence does Sharpe receive at the end of his trial and how do the Spanish feel about it?

8. What does the Mother Superior at the convent ask Sharpe and what does he tell her?

9. Who is La Marquesa and what is her nationality?

10. What does Sharpe do when he first arrives at the convent where Helene is being held?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 womanizer. 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?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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