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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. When he finally gets a clear shot at his enemy, what is the protagonist feeling?

2. Toward the end of the story, the sniper feels "remorse" (98). What is he feeling?

3. What finally changes the way that the sniper is feeling?

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

5. As a result of taking a risk in order to see his dead enemy's body, what happens to the sniper?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. Describe the wound that the sniper suffers.

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

6. How does the sniper react to being shot?

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

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

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 motivates the sniper to get himself back under control?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What causes the sniper's abrupt change of emotion once he has killed the other sniper? Why does this occur only after he has killed the enemy sniper, and not when he kills the first person, the machine gunner?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the symbolic significance of the sniper's bullet injury and his treatment of it. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your claim.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 756 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample