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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 Tippoo have his jettis do?

2. Where does Sharpe take Lawford?

3. Who fights the jettis?

4. What is Sharpe ordered to do after reaching the British?

5. About what does General Rao question Mary?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tippoo hope as the British prepare to attack and what happens to that hope?

2. What do Lawford, McCandless and Sharpe discuss in their cell?

3. With whom does Sharpe fight and what plan of his does his fight prevent?

4. What does Hakeswill do when it comes his turn to be killed?

5. What does a mill fort do for Tippoo's troops and what does the British do about the mill fort?

6. What are Sharpe and Lawford doing when Gudin comes to arrest them?

7. How does Sharpe take care of the black-powder mine?

8. What does Mary do when Rao decides to rescue McCandless and what does Kunwar Singh do?

9. How does Sharpe get them out of the prison?

10. What is Mary doing for work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes, a book is more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think Sharpe's Tiger is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

At the conclusion of a novel, most readers either consciously or unconsciously engage in processing the book and usually come to a conclusion as to whether they like the book or not. Discuss one of the following:

1. Would you consider "Sharpe's Tiger" a "good" book? Why or why not? Use examples to illustrate your stance.

2. What do you think are the elements of an outstanding novel? Analyze one of your favorite novels to see if those elements are present.

3. What are some reasons you might consider a novel a failure? Analyze a novel you think is a failure and see if those elements are in that novel.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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