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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. Why does Jonathan decide not to ask any more questions about the battle after talking to his father's friend?

2. Why don't the soldiers trust the Corporal on the way to the battle?

3. What does Jonathan hear on the morning of April 3rd?

4. How many houses are there in Rocktown?

5. What does Jonathan want to be at the beginning of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why doesn't Jonathan call out when he thinks he sees the Corporal while he is with the Hessians?

2. How does Jonathan feel about his performance in the battle?

3. What do the men debate about once they have reached their destination for the battle?

4. How do Jonathan's feelings about fighting begin to be altered on the way to the battle as he hears the other soldiers talking?

5. What does Jonathan's identification with the word "soldier" (spoken in German by the Hessian) lead him to feel?

6. Why is Jonathan's father against Jonathan joining the war effort?

7. How do the local men react to the Corporal at the beginning of the story?

8. Why does Jonathan hope the drum or fife player is younger than he?

9. Why does Jonathan lie to the tavern keeper about having permission from his father to fight?

10. What is Jonathan concerned about when he has trouble loading his gun as the enemy approaches?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the author accomplish by having the Hessians use a language that Jonathan cannot understand, but the reader can? How would the scene in which Jonathan is first taken prisoner be altered if Jonathan understood what his captors were saying? What impact would this have on the reader's experience?

Essay Topic 2

In what ways is this book a coming-of-age story? What are the major events that cause Jonathan to change from a child to an adult, and how do these changes manifest in him? How is he different before and after his experiences as a soldier?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the use of time-stamping throughout the book. What effect does it have on the reader to see events unfold more slowly or more quickly using this device?

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