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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 complicates the sniper's final shot?

2. In the opening of the story, machine guns fire "spasmodically." How are they firing?

3. What nearby area of the city is under heavy fire?

4. When the enemy sniper is "silhouetted" (98), what is true?

5. What finally changes the way that the sniper is feeling?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the reader first encounters the sniper, what is he doing, and why?

2. How does the enemy sniper manage to shoot the protagonist?

3. Who is the protagonist of "The Sniper" and what is he fighting for?

4. What motivates the sniper to get himself back under control?

5. How does the sniper fool his enemy?

6. What causes the sniper to suddenly lose his enthusiasm for the battle?

7. What are the two contrasting descriptions of the sniper given when he is first introduced?

8. What striking contrast is there in the description that opens the story with the description that closes the first paragraph?

9. Who are the Republicans at war with, and what does this opposition believe?

10. In the sentence "Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof," (96), what is being personified and what purpose does the personification of the bullet serve?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain why the ending of "The Sniper" creates dramatic irony.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the paradox in the story's description of the sniper's appearance.

Essay Topic 3

What is the most reasonable explanation of the sniper's choice to light the cigarette that gives away his position? Provide textual evidence for your claim.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 700 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample