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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 first physical sensation the sniper feels in the place where he has been shot?

2. What does the sniper do when he realizes that the old woman is an informant?

3. The name of the street gives the reader what important piece of information?

4. How are the sniper's eyes described?

5. What can readers infer about the sniper's revolver?

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 react to being shot?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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