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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 Killick say to Sharpe about hanging sailors?

2. What does Sharpe do when he arrives near the fortress ahead of schedule?

3. What does Sharpe do the day after the fort was captured?

4. Why are the French not able to burn their ships?

5. On what peninsula has the British forces been fighting?

Short Essay Questions

1. What surprises Sharpe when they land and why is he surprised and what does Bampfylde do?

2. What does Sharpe do with the American prisoners and how does Bampfylde respond?

3. Who joins Sharpe's mission at the last moment, what kind of problems does he cause and why does Sharpe's superiors allow it?

4. What does Pierre Ducos do when he learns Sharpe is marching inland?

5. Where does Killick move his cannon, how does he feel about his intervention and why is he doing it?

6. What does Sharpe doe when he arrives near the area of the fortress?

7. What does Lassan do when he flees the fortress?

8. In what state are Napoleon's forces at the beginning of this book?

9. Describe the recent event just preceding this book.

10. How does Sharpe counter Bampfylde's assertion of command and what does Bampfylde decide to do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The English decide a temporary bridge must be constructed, using dozens of small ships as a system of support. To this end, the British Navy begins to capture dozens of small vessels. A large number of suitable craft is located near Gujan, and a naval expedition led by Captain Horace Bampfylde is organized. The British army decides that a diversionary action is also needed to divert French forces from the river crossing site; to this end, they decide on a military feint near Gujan; the two missions will be launched simultaneously. A sympathetic superior officer, Colonel Elphinstone, bluntly states that Sharpe has been selected as a sacrificial lamb. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think the British command believes the loss of the Sharpe's Company in a battle against hopeless odds is acceptable? Do you think Sharpe would have followed orders to take his men to divert the French had he known the odds were so overwhelming? Explain with examples.

2. Many wars are fought under the assumption of "acceptable losses." Usually it is the common foot soldier who is doing most of the dying. In fact, the term "cannon fodder," is often used to describe infantry who are killed by the hundreds gaining small hills or bits of land, sometimes to lose the same piece of "real estate" several times with continuing loss of life. Is this truly acceptable?

3. Sometimes some will say that wars would be few and far between if those who decided to go to war had to be in the front lines. Do you think that would make a difference?

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe's Siege 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 3

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 and his somewhat superstitious nature as demonstrated by his worry for his wife's health. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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