View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sense suddenly gives Kien a memory of his wartime experiences?

2. What happens to Kien's manuscript during this time that he is away?

3. What term can best be applied to what Kien is experiencing?

4. Who is Kien's only companion as he starts these remembrances?

5. In what years was the Vietnam War fought?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Kien remember feeling before the onset of war?

2. Who was Tranh?

3. What does Kien try to do to his manuscript that alarms his neighbors so much?

4. During what years did the Vietnam War take place?

5. Why does the transport truck driver wake him up at the end of Part 1?

6. What does Kien do after burning the manuscript?

7. How does Kien’s writing help him psychologically?

8. What is the significance of where the Mute Girl lives?

9. How many years later is the current narrative?

10. Why does Kien write so obsessively?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is a tragic figure in literature? Does Kien fit the definition? Why or why not? Explain in detail.

Essay Topic 2

What is the importance of the Narrator as a character at the end of 'The Sorrow of War'?

Essay Topic 3

One theme of the novel is survivor guilt. Discuss how this theme is presented in the story.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 363 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample