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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 do McCandless and Sharpe pretend to be at odds?

2. What does Sharpe tell Lawford about the gunpowder in the musket he was to use to shoot McCandless?

3. What does Hakeswill goad Sharpe into doing?

4. What do the officers think of Sharpe's ability to lie?

5. What nationality is Mary?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the battle end up between the British and Tippoo, and what does Gudin have to say about it?

2. How does Hakeswill get Sharpe arrested for a court-martial?

3. What is the plan for Lawford and Sharpe, and what will they do when they get into the city?

4. What does Sharpe tell Lawford about the events of the morning in the courtyard?

5. What nationality is Mary and what do she and Sharpe talk about when he joins her after the battle? To whom was Mary married when she became a widow?

6. What are the officers discussing at the beginning of Chapter 4 and what is Lawford's suggestion?

7. Who is with McCandless when he arrives at the courtyard and what does he demand Sharpe do? How did Sharpe's actions turn out?

8. How do the other officers feel about Lawford suggesting Sharpe accompany him on the mission?

9. To what duties are Sharpe, Lawford and Mary assigned?

10. What happens during McCandless' encounter and how does it end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many events that happen in "Sharpe's Tiger" are foreshadowed by previous events and/or signs. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "foreshadow."

2. Why would an author use foreshadowing? Do you think it adds or detracts from your experience as a reader? Explain.

3. Trace and analyze three instances of foreshadowing in "Sharpe's Tiger". Match up what is mentioned earlier and what it foreshadows. Did you guess that each instance of foreshadowing was a "heads up" of something to come? Why or why not.

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

In "Sharpe's Tiger" the British are fighting in India, a country which the British has conquered and made a part of the British Empire.

1. Discuss the moral issues surrounding one country conquering another. Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Richard Sharpe is presented as the hero in "Sharpe's Tiger" and yet Tippoo Sultan is fighting for the right of his country to be independent of a conqueror. Discuss the behavior of Tippoo which shows him to be as much of a hero as Sharpe. Use examples from "Sharpe's Tiger" to support your answer.

3. With research compare British invasion and occupation of India with a similar incident that occurs in the 20th. century.

(see the answer keys)

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