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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. About what is the Duke of Wellington worried?

2. Why is the Prince of Orange excited?

3. Where is Napoleon Bonaparte as the Dragoons cross into Belgium?

4. To whom is a note about the French advance delivered?

5. Why do the Belgian cavalry flee?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sharpe do when he and Doggett see a battalion of French while scouting the crossroad area?

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

3. Why are the Dutch-Belgium troops unable to fight well?

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

5. Who is Sharpe's mother and in what wars has he fought? To whom is he attached now?

6. What type of technical details are seen in Chapter 8?

7. Who does Sharpe see as he leaves Wellington to return to the crossroads? What does he do?

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

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

10. What town on the river Sambre is easily taken by the French, who tries to stop them, and what does this mean in tactical terms?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 11, the macabre auction of the personal possessions of the dead officers is another example of the brutally simple disposition of the fallen soldiers' belongings and also their corpses. Only the most privileged soldiers and officers will have the benefit of loved ones and servants to seek them out from the vast field of dead and dying when the battle is over.

1. Do you think the treatment of dead soldiers and their possessions in this era meant that people had little value to society as a whole back then? Why or why not?

2. In terms of manpower does it seem to be short-sighted of the ruling class to pay so little attention to the wounded on the battle field? In other words, how many men may have died who could have survived to continue serving in the military? Why or why not would you consider the ruling class short-sighted in regards to wounded men?

3. Compare and discuss the difference in the way wounded are treated in war today as compared to that era.

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe, despite his background, is an officer and a gentleman and is, therefore, accorded more respect and trust, even in enemy territory, than the common soldier. Discuss the following:

1. Does it seem likely that officers are usually more respectable than enlisted men back then? What about today? Why or why not.

2. Sharpe refuses his wife a divorce and yet maintains a mistress. Do you think this is how an officer and gentleman comports himself? Why or why not.

3. In the present military in the United States, both officers and enlisted can be held for court martial for adultery or having sexual relations with someone of inferior rank. Why do you think this is so? Do you agree with the policy?

Essay Topic 3

The military way of life is in and of itself similar to a distinct culture. Understanding how the military is organized, how it operates, and its basic rules of conduct will make any novel that centers on the military more understandable and enjoyable. Discuss one of the following:

1. Describe and analyze the military structure during the time of Sharpe's Waterloo. What is rank? What is the difference between officers and enlisted men? How serious is it to disobey an order? What happens if one decides he does not like being in the military and walks away? How are men conscripted? Does the infantry have a similar means of augmenting their ranks as the maritime action called "impressment"?

2. Compare the infantry of Sharpe's Waterloo to that of modern times in the United States, England or France. What are the similarities? The differences? Are the changes from those times improvements? Why or why not? (This question will require some research).

3. Discuss why you think the military has the following: uniforms, a rank structure of officers and enlisted, strict discipline, training for new recruits, court martial, and different types of companies (i.e., rifle, cavalry, artillery, etc). Discuss why you think men (and nowadays women) choose to become professional soldiers.

(see the answer keys)

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