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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. To which state does Jack go for boot camp?

2. Why do the crews learn to fly in squadrons?

3. Who does Jack smoke a cigarette with while waiting for the officers to arrive?

4. What does Jack do on weekend leave?

5. Who does Jack decide to call while on weekend leave?

Short Essay Questions

1. Recall from the text what Jack sees happen to a plane that is caught in a downdraft.

2. Explain Jack's feeling about home in Part 1, Chapters 4-5.

3. Recall from the text how Jack reacts his first time up in the air.

4. Describe what Jack spends his furlough doing in Part 1, Chapter 5.

5. Explain whom Jack meets in Miami Beach and what he fears.

6. Analyze how Jack's immaturity is apparent in Part 1, Chapters 1 -3, citing an example from the text.

7. Describe what happens when Jack becomes ill in Chapter 9. How do his actions show he is maturing?

8. Recall what happens on Jack's first mission.

9. Describe where Jack and his crew are sent on their first mission and how Jack feels about it.

10. Recall what Jack does to get home to New York.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During their imprisonment, Jack and Stan are given very little food, leaving them starving. One day a priest gives them each a boiled egg. Jack saves his and his faced with the decision of giving his egg to a starving German child or keeping it for himself. Explore the idea of compassion in The Last Mission.

Part 1) How important is it for Jack to not lose his compassion during war? Or is it dangerous to feel compassion while at war?

Part 2) Is Stan as compassionate as Jack? Do the German guards show Jack any compassion?

Part 3) How does Jack's compassion show how much he as matured while at war?

Essay Topic 2

Jack is taken as a prisoner of war. Many soldiers were taken as prisoners during World War II. Research and explore prisoners of war during World War II and compare Jack's experience. What is a prisoner of war? Is Jack's treatment the norm for prisoners of war?

Essay Topic 3

In The Last Mission, Jack has now seen other soldiers shot and killed. Yet, he seems unwilling to accept that his friends are dead, even though his own eyes have seen it. Analyze Jack's unwillingness to accept death and why he is so unwilling.

Part 1) Why is Jack so unwilling to accept that his crew members are dead?

Part 2) Why would Jack hold onto the belief that they are alive?

Part 3) Is Jack's unwillingness to accept death a way of surviving or is it a result of his immaturity?

(see the answer keys)

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