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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 is the Prince of Orange excited?

2. What is the Duchess of Richmond preparing to give?

3. What happens when Halkett obeys the Prince of Orange's orders?

4. Who arrives to drive off the French skirmishers?

5. What does the horseman's hat look like?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the Duke of Wellington worried about his troops and what kinds of troops does he have?

2. How does Sharpe mitigate a complete disaster with the battalions under French cavalry attack?

3. What do Sharpe and Harper do on the second night of battle?

4. How do the French feel about the outcome of the war and why haven't the Prussians come to help the British?

5. What is Bonaparte thinking about as he sits in his coach near where the French come into Belgium?

6. What is used on the field of battle besides weapons and men and why?

7. What does the Duke of Wellington read at the ball that interrupts his participation? What does he do after he reads the dispatch?

8. Who does Sharpe encounter while escaping the crossroad area and what happens?

9. Why are the French able to cross into Belgium and what type of resistance is there?

10. What is the ultimate end of the second day of the novel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The technical account of the first use of high explosive shells, invented by a Major Shrapnel, is a fascinating detail among the description of the primitive hand-to-hand combat within the fortified chateau.

1. It has been said humans keep finding better and better ways to kill each other. Discuss what you think this means.

2. Nobel, the man who invented gunpowder in the western world, was so grieved by what his invention did to war and the history of humans that he started the Nobel Prize and other philanthropist projects to use the money he made from his invention to help mankind. Discuss your opinion of his behavior, whether you agree with it, whether he had any reason for such guilt and how you would feel if you had been him.

3. Compare the impact of the invention of shrapnel to the invention of the hydrogen bomb. Use examples to support your answer. Include whether you think more people have been harmed by shrapnel or the bomb.

Essay Topic 2

In any book centered around the military, leadership of the troops is often crucial with the better leaders able to command the respect and loyalty of their men. The men's willingness to follow a particular leader can have a decisive impact upon the success of a mission. Discuss the following:

1. Whose command style seems most effective? Analyze the elements of those effective leaders thoroughly and discuss the traits of the good leaders. What makes an excellent leader/commander? Give examples.

2. Whose command style seems most ineffective? Analyze the elements of those ineffective leaders thoroughly and discuss the traits of the poor leaders. What makes a poor leader/commander? Give examples.

3. Is disobeying a poor leader ever justifiable? Explain using details from the text, other books you have read and your personal experience. In times of war, disobeying an order can be punishable by death. Is this harsh sentence justifiable for such an act? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

Honor is an important concept in Sharpe's Waterloo and in the life of those in the upper class during that era. It is assumed that those who are officers and gentlemen would keep their word after offering it.

1. Trace and analyze the theme of honor in Sharpe's Waterloo. What do you think Richard Sharpe would tell you is the definition of honor if you ask him? How about Harper? Rossendale? Do you think honor can be restored if it is lost? Does Rossendale bring back his honor by joining the suicide charge of the cavalry?

2. Respond to the following statement using specific examples from the book and your own experience: Honor is one of the most important character traits for anyone in any social strata. First, fully define the concept of honor. Then discuss whether you believe the preceding statement is true with specific examples from Sharpe's Waterloo and other books/films, etc. that you have read or experienced.

3. During the era in which Richard Sharpe lives, men could give their word on the basis of being a gentleman and it was assumed to be true. There was no such concept for a lady or anyone of lower social/economic groups. Fully discuss the implications in a society where only gentlemen would be considered trustworthy enough to give their word unquestioned.

(see the answer keys)

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