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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 does Loup tell the men about the wounded?

2. Where does Sharpe go after leaving Wellington?

3. What does Harper see lying in the dirt that he picks up?

4. What is Sharpe using to look at the French troops?

5. What do the Spanish say about San Isidoro?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of superstitious action does Harper take?

2. How does the second large battle for Fuentes de Onoro start and which British troops are involved?

3. What is Valverde's argument about Sharpe?

4. Who and what does Sharpe find at a house in San Cristobal?

5. Why is Sharpe being subjected to a board of inquiry?

6. What is Wellington doing when he realizes he has made a mistake, and what is that mistake?

7. What do Sharpe and Donaju talk about while Sharpe is cutting his own hair?

8. Who are the three soldiers in charge of ammunition distribution? Why are two of the soldiers on that duty and what are their names?

9. How does Sharpe kill Loup and how is Sharpe wounded?

10. What is Kiely's reaction to Juanita being caught by Sharpe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sharpe's Battle is one book in a series of novels involving Richard Sharpe. Discuss the following.

1. What are two advantages of writing a series of novels about the same characters? Illustrate your statements with details from the text.

2. What is a disadvantage of writing a series of novels about the same characters? Illustrate your statements with details from the text.

3. Do you prefer to read a standalone book, or a series of books with the same main characters? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

Cornwell has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Sharpe's Battle qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in Sharpe's Battle are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. Do you think the culture of that era is more or less advanced than you imagined? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a system of nobility in a country, especially how it applies to the military. For example, both Oliveira and Kiely were high born people in charge of a large number of soldiers and yet were incompetent. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. The class separations in the era of Sharpe's Battle are very distinct and the upper class is basically impenetrable to the lower class. Discuss the implications of Sharpe, the son of a prostitute being able to obtain the rank of lieutenant and the possible ramifications he might have to deal with when interacting with officers who come from a much higher class.

3. Often in this series of novels the upper class officers are presented as incompetent, at best, and dangerous uncaring at worse. What might that portrayal suggest about how the author might feel about wealthy people and the positions they hold in society, whether qualified or not? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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