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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. What is Labri?

2. While watching the chickens, what dose Paradis see?

3. Why can Eudore's five friends not make it to their real destination?

4. Why was the veteran executed just prior to the events of Chapter 10?

5. Where does the narrator meet with Cpl. Marchal?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do most of the wounded in the refuge think about God?

2. What is meant by the phrase that each poilu "carries his crowd along"?

3. Describe the encounter that the narrator and Paradis have with the four German soldiers.

4. What is the condition of most of the soldiers the morning after the bombardment?

5. What obstacles do the French face during their assault on the German trench?

6. According to the author, what is important about the men writing letters home?

7. Where do the men go when the bombardment gets worse? What happens when they get there?

8. How do the civilian's perceptions of the war differ from the soldier's experiences?

9. What is the "feast of the survivors"?

10. What is Poterloo's mental state when he and the narrator discover the remains of Souchez?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, and in particular in the chapter "Bombardment," it is shown that the men have an intimate knowledge of artillery weapons used by both sides. Although these weapons seem to intercede only occasionally, their effect is devastating and seemingly random. The men have a strange mixture of admiration, respect, and fear of these weapons, mixed in with a strange kind of superstition developed over the course of many months spent trying to avoid death at the hands of these random killers.

Part 1) Using information from the book, discuss some of the types of artillery employed by both sides. How effective and accurate are these weapons?

Part 2) Describe the level of knowledge that the soldiers seem to have of the various kinds of artillery employed against them. Explain some of their more rational beliefs and fears.

Part 3) Explain some of the soldiers more irrational beliefs and fears about the artillery. Speculate about why these almost superstitious fears and practices came into being.

Essay Topic 2

The equipment, appearance, and clothing of the poilus is discussed at length throughout the book. They are depicted as individuals, each with a unique look and personality. This individuality forms an important theme in the novel, demonstrating that the soldiers are normal people thrust into circumstances that they have difficulty adapting to and understanding. They maintain this individuality until the final chapter of the book, when the rain and mud make the men of both sides appear the same.

Part 1) Using examples from the book, explain how the author establishes the individuality of the soldiers on the basis of appearance.

Part 2) Discuss how this individuality reflects the soldier's unique backgrounds and temperaments.

Part 3) How does this individuality become an important theme in the novel? Why is it important that the author picks out and differentiates individuals among the masses of the French army? Explain how this theme is developed in the novel, starting with the introduction of the individual soldiers, and ending with the reflection near the end of the novel that war is made up of individuals, but that they fade into nothing in the grand scheme of the struggle.

Essay Topic 3

This novel is alleged to be semi auto-biographical, and there are strong hints that the narrator of the story is the author. Still, little is revealed about the narrator, although it is clear that he is not like the other men of the squad.

Part 1) Describe as many details about the narrator as possible. What are his personality traits? What is his background and history?

Part 2) Explain what sets the narrator apart from the other men of the squad. How is he different in speech, action, and thought? What does this say about his character?

Part 3) What evidence exists to suggest that the author and narrator are the same person? Is there any evidence to the contrary? What is the author's intent in this regard?

Part 4) Describe the literary intent of suggesting, but never confirming, that the narrator is the author.

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