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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 do the Spanish think about Sharpe being sentenced to hanging?

2. What do Sharpe and Helene stop to retrieve as they leave the convent?

3. Why is Patrick worried about Sharpe?

4. Where did Patrick and Isabella meet?

5. How does the prosecutor portray Sharpe?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Angel worried about Sharpe's plan in Chapter Eleven and what does Sharpe tell him?

2. What sentence does Sharpe receive at the end of his trial and how do the Spanish feel about it?

3. What is the Marques and Father Hacha discussing in Chapter Five? What does the Marques say about his wife?

4. What does Father Hacha think to accomplish with his actions?

5. Why does Leroy confront Sharpe and what does he want Sharpe to do?

6. Describe what the Spanish see during Sharpe's supposed execution.

7. What does the Mother Superior at the convent ask Sharpe and what does he tell her?

8. What does Hogan call Sharpe's situation and how does he describe it?

9. Why is el Matarife at an inn near the Convent of the Heavens and what does he do about Wellington's request?

10. What is d'Alembord doing to help Sharpe with his duel, what has he done in secret and how did Sharpe's last duel end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Cornwell is masterful in his description of battles and life in general in for a soldier during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s. Discuss one of the following:

1. Trace and analyze Cornwells's descriptive passages about life as a soldier. How does he use descriptions of the five senses to make the reader feel s/he is there? Do you find his descriptions compelling? Seemingly accurate? How would Sharpe's Honor be different if Cornwell did not include such descriptive passages?

2. Analyze Cornwells's descriptive passages about the social structure of the times and discuss what you think it would be like to be a person of wealth and/or privilege such as Wellington, or the Marques. Contrast that to the lives of those who are in a lower social strata such as Sharpe and Harper or one in service to someone of wealth and/or privilege.

3. Describe and analyze Cornwell's descriptive passages about the topographical setting and the physical descriptions of the people. Does Cornwell do an adequate job of actually making the reader "see" the land or sea where the action is taking place? How about getting a visual image of the characters? How does the descriptions of the setting add to the novel? Do you like having an idea of how a character looks? How would the novel be different without such descriptions?

Essay Topic 2

Sharpe's Honor 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 3

The military way of life is in and of itself similar to a distinct culture. Understanding how the military is organized, how it operates, and its basic rules of conduct will make any novel that centers on the military more understandable and enjoyable. Discuss one of the following:

1. Describe and analyze the military structure during the time of Sharpe's Honor. What is rank? What is the difference between officers and enlisted men? How serious is it to disobey an order? What happens if one decides he does not like being in the military and walks away? How are men conscripted? Does the infantry have a similar means of augmenting their ranks as the maritime action called "impressments"?

2. Compare the infantry of Sharpe's Honor to that in modern times in for the United States, England or France. What are the similarities? The differences? Are the changes from those times improvements? Why or why not? (This question will require some research).

3. Discuss why you think the military has the following: Uniforms, a rank structure of Officers and Enlisted, Strict Discipline, Training for New Recruits, Court Martial, and Different types of companies (i.e., rifle, Cavalry, artillery, etc). Discuss why you think men (and nowadays women) choose to become professional soldiers.

(see the answer keys)

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