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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. What is the source of the sniper's respect for his fallen enemy?

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

3. When the sniper turns over the body of his enemy, whom does he discover it to be?

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

5. What word (or a variation of it) is repeated several times after the sniper is shot?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

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

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

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

6. 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?

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

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

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

10. How does the sniper react to being shot?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

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.

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