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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. During what component of military training is the most important conditioning happening according to Grossman in Chapter 1?

2. In the anecdote at the beginning of Chapter 3, what is the soldier surprised he did in his first firefight?

3. What story does Grossman end Chapter 4 with?

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

5. In what country did the case-study of Chapter 4 take place?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. In Chapter 6, what factors contribute to a soldier's decision to kill in the chart presented and discussed?

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

7. According to Grossman, why do young people idolize entertainment figures more than police and politicians?

8. What is the Weinberger Doctrine?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Near the end of ON KILLING, Dave Grossman turns his concern from military policy to policy related to the private sector, particularly the entertainment industry. Write an essay in three parts about the recommendations Dave Grossman makes regarding the world of entertainment:

Part 1) What does Dave Grossman have to say about the world of print media? Does he think that it has any effect on the youth of America, one way or another? Based upon this opinion, does Grossman suggest any major alteration to the way it goes about delivering its product?

Part 2) What recommendation does Grossman make regarding the film industry and television? Discuss the dueling concerns that the author acknowledges these industries have and the responsibilities they share. What defense does he offer against shouts that he is censoring art with these recommendations?

Part 3) In summing up his arguments regarding the entertainment industry, why is Grossman confident that these changes will go into effect? Does he think the public will demand them, and why? How does reformation constitute a public emergency in his opinion?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the root causes and addressing of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the American military? What step of the killing process is interrupted, leading to PTSD, and what factors are involved in this stunting of emotional processing? How does PTSD manifest itself? In what conflict did numbers of soldiers suffering from PTSD skyrocket? How long did it take the American military to address this concern, and what has been done?

(see the answer keys)

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