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

2. After he calms down, what does the sniper decide to do next?

3. "His enemy had been hit" (98) is an example of what technique?

4. What river is near the sniper's position?

5. What temporarily interferes with his vision and stops the sniper from seeing the results of his shot?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. 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?

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

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

10. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Analyze the symbolic value of the description of setting in the story's opening paragraph.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 790 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample