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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At what time of day does the story begin?
(a) Mid-afternoon.
(b) Dusk.
(c) Midnight.
(d) Dawn.

2. On the rooftop where the sniper is lying, there is a parapet. What is a parapet?
(a) A low wall at the edge of the roof.
(b) A chimney.
(c) An enclosed opening to the floor below.
(d) A stairwell.

3. What do the Free Staters want?
(a) A united Ireland under British rule.
(b) A united Ireland under Irish rule.
(c) A united Ireland under joint rule between the British and the Irish.
(d) A divided Ireland, one part ruled by Ireland, one part ruled by Britain.

4. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?
(a) Continuously.
(b) Loudly.
(c) In brief bursts with no regular pattern.
(d) With a deep reverberating sound.

5. What is the only description given of the old woman?
(a) Her dress looks like it is brand new.
(b) She has a thin smile.
(c) She walks very slowly.
(d) Her head is covered in an old shawl.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the risk that the sniper takes in order to check out his dead enemy's identity?

2. In his distress, what does the sniper do with his revolver?

3. Where is the enemy sniper located?

4. After he is wounded, the sniper feels a "paroxysm" of pain. What kind of pain is he feeling?

5. Why does the sniper not immediately fire on the enemy car?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does the sniper kill while he is still waiting to kill the enemy sniper, and why does he kill them?

2. Who is the protagonist of "The Sniper" and what is he fighting for?

3. When the reader first encounters the sniper, what is he doing, and why?

4. What problem is created by the sniper's wound?

5. What are the two contrasting descriptions of the sniper given when he is first introduced?

6. What is the symbolic significance of the O'Connell Bridge and the River Liffey?

7. What risk does the sniper take at the beginning of the story, and what are the consequences?

8. What is the setting of "The Sniper"?

9. In the sentence "Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof," (96), what is being personified and what purpose does the personification of the bullet serve?

10. What causes the sniper to suddenly lose his enthusiasm for the battle?

(see the answer keys)

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