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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 does Sharpe want Sargeant Harper to have of his in the event of his death?

2. How much money does Sharpe have in the bank in London?

3. Where are Sharpe and Harper standing at the opening of the novel?

4. What is the month and year in which this book begins?

5. Why do Nairn's forces voluntarily reposition themselves when fighting at Toulouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. What orders do Sharpe, Frederickson, and Harper receive?

2. What is Toulouse and who commands it?

3. What does Peter d'Alembord do with Shape and his companions?

4. What does the man Napoleon enlists for help actually do and why?

5. Describe Henri Lassan's sister.

6. How does Sharpe respond to Jane's demands in the Prologue?

7. How does the assault of Nairn's troops end?

8. What do Sharpe and Frederickson decide to do and how does Harper help?

9. Who writes Sharpe and what information is in the letter he receives in Chapter 4?

10. What do the British at Toulouse learn after the battle about Napoleon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The novel presents one pimp actively recruiting women as whores amidst rampant poverty and imminent mass starvation. Thrown into this mix are many disabled French veterans and various displaced persons. The end of the war has not brought an end to the humanitarian crisis.

1. Compare the situation with the ravages of war in Bordeaux to a modern day refugee camp. How are they similar? How are they different?

2. In view of the aftermath of war, discuss the various groups of people in a country who are affected by war and its aftermath besides the members of the military.

3. Given the fact that war usually has no redeeming value and that all the people in a country are affected by war, not just the members of the military, discuss what you believe are the reasons the average person still responds when the government calls for war.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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 Wars affect the social culture of one of the following countries: Britian, France, or Germany.

(see the answer keys)

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