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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. In Chapter 6, Grossman indicates that an Islamic suicide bomber's authority figure is what?

2. In the Vet of the Year anecdote in Chapter 3, who did Dave use as an example of someone who did not kill but was still blamed?

3. In Chapter 4, Grossman says that every veteran can immediately visualize his what?

4. According to Grossman in Chapter 2, what is the purpose of after-mission briefings in modern wars?

5. What is a common feature of natural warriors presented in Chapter 5?

Short Essay Questions

1. What factors contribute to a soldier's decision to commit an atrocity?

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

3. Describe the strange dichotomy between nudity and killing in Western culture?

4. What evidence does Grossman provide that violence among youth has increased dramatically since the 1950s?

5. How does Grossman explain murder-suicide in terms of the killing process in Chapter 2?

6. What changes have occurred in recent years to mitigate the psychiatric casualties of Vietnam?

7. In Chapter 5, how does Grossman illustrate the danger of refusing to take part in an atrocity?

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

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

10. How does Grossman apply the killing process to the national mood in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of the book is dedicated to the vast majority of soldiers that are naturally resistant to killing, but Grossman indicates that a small number of soldiers feel no remorse after killing. Write an essay about these natural warriors. What do they all have in common? How are their lives generally similar, and how do they interact with less aggressive combatants around them? What separates a natural warrior from a psychopath?

Essay Topic 2

A major subject and tonal shift occurs in the last third of ON KILLING when Dave Grossman turns his attention away from the military and toward civilian life. Write an essay about Grossman's opinions about modern American culture. How is the culture conditioning young people to be violent? How have traditional defenses against this deteriorated? What evidence does the author use to argue his points?

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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