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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 Hakeswill spend his time thinking about during the assault preparations?

2. Why is Sharpe summoned to his old company?

3. Who does Sharpe suspect of stealing?

4. What do the British do with the captured bastion?

5. What are emplaced against two of the bastions?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rymer say about his blotched mission, what does he decide to do and what does Sharpe do in response?

2. Why does Wellington decide Badajoz has to be taken immediately?

3. What does Sharpe say when Hogan informs him of the plan for the dam and what is the plan?

4. What happens to Sharpe as he retreats from the dam?

5. What is Hakeswill doing while the British prepare for the assault of Badajoz and what do the men think about him?

6. At first, what does Sharpe do while the British are dealing with the Rivillas Stream?

7. What do the British troops do after the weather clears in Chapter 17 and what do they decide about the plain?

8. What has the French built across the Rivillas Stream and what do the British do about it?

9. Where is the British forces camped in relation to Badajoz and what do Sharpe and Harper think will be the only way to assault the city?

10. What does Rymer do when the French mount a sortie while Sharpe is watching the digging? What are the French trying to do and what is the British response? What does Sharpe do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Usually the women in this series are background to the men and tend to fit a stereotype of women in this era of history. This book has a different type of woman, Teresa Morgan, who is a guerrilla soldier and leader of her riders.

1. Present and analyze the treatment of women in RICHARD SHARPE AND THE SIEGE OF BADAJOZ.

2. Cornwell is trying to be historically accurate, so is his treatment of women in his book(s) justified?

3. Is there any way Cornwell could have presented women in a more positive light and still stayed historically accurate? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The first assaulting group, known as the forlorn hope, leads the assault through the breach. Generally, the forlorn hope is slaughtered to a man. Because of this, the forlorn hope is manned only by volunteers and any survivor is automatically granted an increase in rank.

1. Discuss Sharpe volunteering for the forlorn hope at both Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. Why do you think he keeps doing that? Use examples from Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Badajoz to support your answer.

2. What does it say about someone's character that he is willing to risk almost certain death for a promotion? Use examples from RICHARD SHARPE AND THE SIEGE OF BADAJOZ to support your answer.

3. Do you think using only volunteers for forlorn hope is good? Does that seem to be more humanitarian than most of the other ideas in this era?

Essay Topic 3

Note that in the British military service, commissions could be purchased for monetary payments to the government. Thus, Rymer's appearance as an inexperienced captain means simply that he comes from a moneyed family. Leroy and Sharpe consider the process, theoretically corrupted, that leads to Rymer's commission.

1. Do you think that a wealthy person should be able to purchase a high rank in the military? Why or why not?

2. It seems that money has always had some sway over the military. In modern times one of the complaints against the Vietnam War is that "rich kids" didn't go. Explain how getting out of military duty because of wealth is as corrupt as obtaining a higher rank because of money.

3. Discuss why someone like Rymer who had enough money to purchase a captaincy would even enter the military and risk his life. Use examples from RICHARD SHARPE AND THE SIEGE OF BADAJOZ to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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