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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 Grossman in Chapter 3, why is the struggle to train young men to kill a lopsided struggle?

2. Which of the following is an essential quality that makes a role model desirable as listed in Chapter 4?

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

4. In Chapter 5, what is another profession Grossman mentions that natural warriors often enter besides the military?

5. What percentage of the population qualifies as a natural warrior?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. According to Grossman in Chapter 3, how can PTSD be treated effectively?

5. Describe the strange story of the CIA guard at the end of Chapter 1?

6. What solution did the American military devise to deal with low firing rates in World War II?

7. What are the three categories of atrocity as delineated in Chapter 1?

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

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

10. What factors traditionally assist in rationalization and acceptance after combat?

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

Much of the last part of ON KILLING deals with comparing the way the military conditions soldiers and media conditions young people in America. Write an essay charting and analyzing this comparison. What are the means of traditional and conditioning in either arena? How do the authorities of the military training compare to those that young people in America listen to? What finer points does military training place on conditioning that the media in civilian life does not?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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