View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Once he is wounded, what is the sniper's first priority?

2. Where does the sniper think that he might know his enemy from?

3. How does the reader know the sniper's age?

4. In order to fool his enemy, what does the sniper lift over the parapet?

5. What complicates the sniper's final shot?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the sniper react to being shot?

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

4. What is the sniper drinking, and what evidence does the reader have that it is affecting his judgement?

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

6. What motivates the sniper to discover the identity of the dead man, and what is that identity?

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

8. Describe the wound that the sniper suffers.

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

10. How does the enemy sniper manage to shoot the protagonist?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the use of the River Liffey as a symbol in "The Sniper." Describe how it appears in the story, background information on the river, and how these two elements combine to create meaning.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the last line of the story "The Sniper." Be sure to include a discussion of the layers of meaning in the word "brother" and to explain how this line impacts the overall meaning of the story.

Essay Topic 3

The words "dead" and "deadened" occur repeatedly in the paragraphs about the sniper getting hit with a bullet. Explain the thematic purpose of this repetition.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 736 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample