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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. As related in Chapter 6, which catalyzing event occurred to Calley's platoon the day before the My Lai massacre?

2. What was new about the enemy composition in Vietnam as opposed to previous wars?

3. Which of the following theorists presents evidence concerning proximity of authority and peer groups?

4. In conditioning soldiers to fire quickly, what has the military not prepared them for?

5. In Vietnam, about how many sniper rounds did it take to kill one enemy soldier?

Short Essay Questions

1. What examples from Chapter 6 illustrate a problematic relationship with women in the military?

2. What factors does Grossman say are contributing to youth violence in Chapter 1?

3. What hypothetical situation does Grossman relate in Chapter 3?

4. As described in Chapter 2, how do children progress through increasingly violent entertainment?

5. How did John Foster rationalize killing a VC in Chapter 1?

6. What warning about video games does Grossman make at the end of Chapter 3?

7. Why was combat in Vietnam particularly dirty, as described in Chapter 2?

8. Which essential qualities makes a role model desirable as listed in Chapter 4?

9. What is the Weinberger Doctrine?

10. In Chapter 2, what does Grossman say an atrocity does to a combat unit's group dynamic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Early in the book, Grossman admits that he does not think women should work if they have children. Later in the text, he presents arguments that women do more damage in combat than good. Write an essay exploring the author's attitude toward women. What reasons does he cite for women to be left out of combat service? Are these arguments related tot heir abilities in there arena? Are then, in fact, judgments about male soldiers that fight with them? Do these arguments seem to be colored by Grossman's prejudices?

Essay Topic 3

Much of the beginning of ON KILLING deals with the issue of non-firers, a concern the military did not realize it had until after World War II and has been struggling to deal with effectively since. Write an essay in three parts dealing with non-firers and the military's response to them:

Part 1) Approximately what percentage of soldiers in World War II never fired their weapons? Discuss why, from a noncombatant's point-of-view, this seems absurd. What were these soldiers risking by not firing, and what sort of essential drive compelled them to risk this?

Part 2) Discuss the examples given from Rhodesia, the American Civil War, and the two World Wars that countless of soldier chose not kill. What kind of attitude was taken by fellow soldiers to non-killers? Why was the American military surprised by the firing rate of World War II?

Part 3) Upon learning of the low firing rate in World War II, the military made increasing this rate a top priority. What tactics did they use to do this, and how successful were they? How did this success manifest itself in Vietnam, and how was the process refined after Vietnam?

(see the answer keys)

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