View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who orders Meade to use the Fifth and Eighteenth Corps instead of the black troops?

2. Which officials, consisting of the vice president, assistant secretary of war, and president of the senate, visit Lincoln?

3. Who is nominated for a second term as President?

4. Who will not take the initiative like Stonewall Jackson had for the Confederates?

5. How long is the pontoon bridge over the James River that the Federal forces pass over?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the technique employed to break into the Confederate line proposed by Pleasant?

2. How does Grant recognize Lee's hopeless situation after Lee's troops fail to burn the bridges?

3. How does Lee finally accept Grant's offer to discuss surrender?

4. How is Lee's desperation evident at Christmas?

5. How does Shaara powerfully convey the death of Hill, one of Lee's leaders through a third-person point of view of an unknown officier?

6. What is the oddity regarding soldiers who can view their own deaths in the war?

7. Why does Appomattox signify the end of the Civil War?

8. Why does Lee believe that the statue of George Washington will remain intact during the war?

9. Why does Lee fail to attend the surrender ceremony?

10. Why is Grant tempted to drink alcohol after Cold Harbor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the main themes in the book is ethical and social responsibility. List at least four examples where Shaara employs this specific theme. Is the battle between making ethical choices obvious or subtle? What characters are involved in this kind of battle? Do you think the right person or group won? Does good always triumph over evil in the case of "The Last Full Measure" ethics? Where do these definitions appear vague or incomprehensible?

Essay Topic 2

Explain Shaara's use of humor in the book. Cite examples of at least two different instances of humor and explain why Shaara used them where he did.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the role of the family in "The Last Full Measure". What does it mean for each of the main characters? How does the family evolve in its support of each other? How typical is this family of most Northern and Southern families living during the 1840s and 1850s in America?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 920 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample