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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. According to the author, the hazing of enlisted men by officers would best be described as which of the following?

2. How old were the youngest soldiers fielded by the axis during the war?

3. Which of the following is not a concept that the iconic pre-war image in Chapter 1 is said to convey?

4. Talismans were believed to perform what function?

5. Why did enlisted men require an "anodyne"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the term "chickenshit" mean?

2. What drinks were preferred by men from different nations in the war?

3. According to the author, what is the result on the battlefield of the relatively young age of soldiers and the violence of warfare?

4. How was military jargon and vocabulary used to demean enlisted men?

5. What problems did American arms and armaments suffer from in the early parts of WWII?

6. How did soldiers think about women most of the time?

7. What sort of information is regularly denied to the common soldier?

8. Once they were in the war, how did Americans believe they could win it?

9. According to the author, why does the human mind crave narrative order?

10. What did Americans expect their participation in WWII to be like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the second World War, soldiers faced constant hazing from their officers. Although largely successful in helping to establish and maintain discipline, these measures were always demeaning, and sometimes dangerous.

1) Explain the unofficial policy of hazing in the US military during World War II.

2) Discuss why this policy was used, and what the army expected to gain through it.

3) Describe some of the unintended side-effects of hazing on the enlisted men.

Essay Topic 2

High-mindedness dominated thought and writing about the war during its later years. Although not unique to World War II, the author asserts that it reaching its peak during this conflict. American citizens and soldiers had markedly different reactions to this approach.

1) Explain what the author means by "high mindedness."

2) Discuss why high-minded thinking about the war came to dominate in the media. What purpose did this serve?

3) Explain how the American public reacted to the increasing high-mindedness presented to them.

4) Describe the reaction of American soldiers to this increasingly abstract explanation for the war. Why couldn't they relate to these concepts, and what affect did this high-mindedness have on them?

5) Assess overall whether or not an emphasis on high-minded ideal was good or bad for the nation during the war.

Essay Topic 3

Rumors emerged and spread rapidly through the ranks of the enlisted men during World War II, and were apparently believed by many soldiers - sometimes by soldiers on both sides of the war.

1) Explain why rumors were likely to emerge in the conditions that soldiers lived in. What did rumors provide for the soldiers?

2) Discuss some of the types of rumors believed by the soldiers.

3) Speculate as to why fanciful and easily disprovable ideas were continued to be embraced.

(see the answer keys)

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