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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. Where does the sniper get shot?

2. What is the only description given of the old woman?

3. Why is the sniper eating?

4. The sniper takes a "draught" (96) of his drink. What is a "draught" in this context?

5. On the rooftop where the sniper is lying, there is a parapet. What is a parapet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are the Republicans at war with, and what does this opposition believe?

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

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

4. What striking contrast is there in the description that opens the story with the description that closes the first paragraph?

5. What motivates the sniper to get himself back under control?

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

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

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

9. What happens as a result of the Republican sniper's ruse?

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

What is the most reasonable explanation of the sniper's choice to light the cigarette that gives away his position? Provide textual evidence for your claim.

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 698 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample