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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 is the enemy sniper located?

2. The description of the car "panting" (96) suggests what about the situation?

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

4. Who wrote "The Sniper"?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

2. Describe the wound that the sniper suffers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain why the ending of "The Sniper" creates dramatic irony.

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

Whiskey is sometimes disparagingly referred to as "Irish Courage." Justify the presence of the detail of the whiskey in "The Sniper," where space is at such a premium.

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This section contains 693 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample