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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. How are advancing French elements driven off?

2. What does Calvet want to do?

3. What does Killick ask Sharpe?

4. What does Calvet worry about at the fortress?

5. What does Killick do with Thuella?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Bampfylde do about Killick's ship and how does that turn out?

2. What do Sharpe and his men do to prepare for the French forces marching on them at the fortress? What information does Killick give them?

3. What do both Calvet and Sharpe realize about the assaults on the fortress and how it will end.

4. What do the French do on their first assault on the fortress?

5. What happens when Sharpe sees de Maquerre?

6. What does Killick do in obedience to the French? What is Sharpe's response?

7. What happens with Ducos' plan and how does Sharpe feel about de Maquerre's information?

8. Describe the bridge that the British built.

9. What is going on that favors the British and why does it favor them?

10. What type of tactic has Sharpe used to get his men out of the fort? Describe how it worked.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In chapter 11, a Marine named Robinson sexually assaults a local girl named Lucille who is hysterical over the event. Sharpe threatens to hang the man but has Harper beat the Marine on the lame explanation that the rape had not actually been consummated. Discuss the following:

1. Does the beating seem sufficient punishment for the attempted rape? If Robinson attempts rape once, do you think it likely he will do so again? What do you think should have happened to Robinson?

2. One of the horrors of war is that called "collateral damage" in modern times. Discuss what you think that term means and discuss instances of "collateral damage" in Sharpe's Siege.

3. Is collateral damage an acceptable side effect of war? Is it unavoidable? What are ways Sharpe tries to minimize collateral damage? Do you think it is easier in the era in which Sharpe lives to avoid harm to civilians than in the modern era of high powered weapons? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe weighs various factors in trying to decide what to do about Killick and decides that he cannot simply leave Killick behind, knowing full well that as soon as Sharpe is out of sight, Bampfylde will begin hanging the Americans. He is also haunted by the specter of Jane's death and involves himself in some superstitious speculation; Killick's yarn about sailors being hung in still air sends chills down Sharpe's spine and he somehow illogically conflates the story with Jane's survival. Sharpe comes to the conclusion that sparing Killick somehow guarantees Jane's survival. Discuss the following:

1. What is superstition? Can you name a few common superstitions? Do any of them seem to have any validity in logic? How do you think a superstition gets started? Continues?

2. Why do you think soldiers have the reputation for being superstitious? Do you think it is true? What superstitions are mentioned in Sharpe's Siege? Do you think superstitions help a person emotionally or psychologically when that person's life is in danger constantly such as a soldier at war? Do you think people are more superstitious during the era of Sharpe's Siege than they are now? Why or why not?

3. Do you believe any superstitions? What are they? Why? Have you ever found yourself unconsciously associating the outcome of something with something else happening that is totally unrelated? Discuss a couple of those times. How do you start associating one event with the other?

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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