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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. When the enemy sniper is "silhouetted" (98), what is true?

2. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?

3. What causes the sniper to calm himself and get back to his job?

4. Where does the sniper get shot?

5. Toward the end of the story, the sniper feels "remorse" (98). What is he feeling?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the sniper react to being shot?

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

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

4. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 740 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample