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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 the officers Sharpe will be a convincing deserter?

2. What are the officers discussing in General Harris's tent as Chapter 4 opens?

3. To what is Sharpe sentenced at his court-martial?

4. What does Tippoo use to execute two men?

5. What does McCandless say to Sharpe?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is Sharpe stationed, why is the British army there and why are the French there?

2. What do Hector McCandless and Appah Rao do when they meet?

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

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

5. What does McCandless encounter on his way back to British forces?

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

7. What does the British do to advance on Tippoo and why are Tippoo's tactics poor?

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

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mary is the only woman in "Sharpe's Tiger" that has any role. She is an intelligent, resourceful and brave woman but, in the end, still needs the protection of a man.

1. Present and analyze the treatment of women in "Sharpe's Tiger".

2. Cornwell is trying to be historically accurate, so is his treatment of women in his book(s) justified?

3. Is there any way Cornwell could have presented women in a more positive light and still stayed historically accurate? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Cornwell is masterful in his description of battles and life in general for a soldier during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s. Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze Cornwells's descriptive passages about life as a soldier. How does he use descriptions of the five senses to make the reader feel s/he is there? Do you find his descriptions compelling? Seemingly accurate? How would "Sharpe's Tiger" be different if Cornwell did not include such descriptive passages?

2. Analyze Cornwells's descriptive passages about the social structure of the times and discuss what you think it would be like to be a person of wealth and/or privilege such as Wellington? Contrast that to the lives of those who are in a lower social strata such as Sharpe, Mary or Hakeswill.

3. Describe and analyze Cornwell's descriptive passages about the topographical setting and the physical descriptions of the people. Does Cornwell do an adequate job of actually making the reader "see" the land where the action is taking place? How about getting a visual image of the characters? How does the descriptions of the setting add to the novel? Do you like having an idea of how a character looks? How would the novel be different without such descriptions?

Essay Topic 3

"Sharpe's Tiger" takes place during the Third Anglo-Mysore War; therefore understanding the political and social situation during that time helps to a greater understanding and appreciation of this book. Discuss one of the following:

1. Research and write an expository essay about how the Third Anglo-Mysore War begins and ends.

2. Research and write an expository essay about the battles that take place on land between Britain and India during the Third Anglo-Mysore War.

3. Compare/Contrast the importance of the British infantry during the Third Anglo-Mysore War to the importance of the British infantry during either WWI or WWII.

(see the answer keys)

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