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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What time of day was it when Tim killed the man on the trail?
(a) Midnight
(b) Dawn
(c) Dusk
(d) Afternoon

2. What does the author say about truth?
(a) Truth is absolute
(b) Everyone has their own truth
(c) Truth is unattainable
(d) Story-truth is more real than happening-truth

3. Where is the first draft of the story inspired by Norman Bowker published?
(a) In an anthology of short stories
(b) On the Internet
(c) In Reader's Digest
(d) In a national magazine

4. Which is NOT a way Norman Bowker attempts to return to normal life?
(a) Working at various jobs
(b) Basketball at the YMCA
(c) Classes at a community college
(d) Dating a number of women

5. Who does Rat Kiley accuse of whispering his name?
(a) The trees
(b) The villagers
(c) The other men in the platoon
(d) The bugs

Short Answer Questions

1. What landmark was Tim able to recognize in the field where Kiowa died, years later?

2. Who mimics the girl's dancing later that night, making Henry Dobbins angry?

3. Which is NOT a way the men react to Rat Kiley's injury?

4. What is Tim trying to save with a story?

5. Which feeling does the narrator not admit to about the war?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Tim go on a trip with and where do they go?

2. How is Norma Bowker's life before the war and after the war contrasted?

3. Do you agree with Kiowa or Tim's point of view about the kill? Why?

4. What two types of truth are there for the author and reader?

5. Explain Tim's dilemma about how he killed a man on the trail outside My Khe.

6. How do Henry Dobbins and Azar disagree about the girl's motive to dance?

7. How does Norman Bowker ultimately cope with returning home?

8. What does Tim invent about the man he killed?

9. What happens to Tim after he kills the man in the path with a grenade?

10. Contrast the two times Tim was shot.

(see the answer keys)

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