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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. With what term does Grossman describe the reticence of the military to discuss non-firing in Chapter 3?

2. Chapter 7 begins with several vets joking about raping and murdering which public figure?

3. Which of the following is not a contributing factor in determining whether a group easily unites in combat killing?

4. Which of the following is not a stage of Stockholm Syndrome?

5. In the final story of Chapter 4, the one in which an American and Viet Cong soldier happen upon each other, who is killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Vietnam story of Chapter 4.

2. What inefficiency of edged-weapon combat does Grossman reveal in Chapter 5?

3. How did mechanical distance change the perception of war in the 1990's?

4. What surprising fact regarding soldier's fears in combat is revealed in Chapter 2?

5. How did military predictions regarding civilian bombings and psychiatric casualties prove completely wrong in World War II?

6. Why does the Vietnam Vet quoted in Chapter 7 choose to leave the army after six tours?

7. What is punishment justification?

8. What role does enemy morale play in the choice to kill?

9. What is surprising about the study cited in Chapter 1 regarding what compels soldiers to shoot?

10. What assertion regarding military psychiatrists does Grossman make at the end of Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the first section of ON KILLING, the author argues that the soldier has more options on a battlefield than simply fight or flight. In an essay, discuss these options and particularly the most common one taken: posture. Firstly, why is fight-or-flight not a legitimate choice in a fight between two humans? What other two options are open to humans in this case? What makes posturing such an attractive option, and how has the development of firearms only improved a soldier's ability to posture?

Essay Topic 2

In the first half of the book, Grossman discusses the gap in psychiatric casualties between combatants and noncombatants. Write an essay about this gap. What did the military predict regarding psychiatric casualties among the civilian population affected by bombing in World War II? Why does Grossman expect that these estimates proved to be wrong? Why did psychiatric casualties prove higher among civilians in concentration camps? What does all of this say about proximity and killing as factors in psychiatric casualties?

Essay Topic 3

At the beginning of ON KILLING, Dave Grossman pointedly lists his conservative opinions and prejudices, saying he wants to be clear with the reader as to his natural inclinations from the start. How does this affect ones reading of the policy discussion that follows? Do these prejudices seem to affect his domestic recommendations more than his military recommendations? How so? What ideology is he espousing in the latter sections of the book?

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