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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 does the sniper do when he realizes that his enemy is dead?

2. What does the sniper drop to the ground?

3. Once he is wounded, what is the sniper's first priority?

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

5. What do the Free Staters want?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

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

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

5. How does the sniper react to being shot?

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

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

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

9. Describe the wound that the sniper suffers.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the paradox in the story's description of the sniper's appearance.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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