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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Volpatte repeat as he charges into the machine gun fire?

2. How do the men prevent their cleaned rifles from being stolen by lazy or dishonest soldiers?

3. What hazard do the men face even after they reach the relative safety of the heights?

4. What does Paradis do for the old woman that he and the narrator find at the farmhouse?

5. What is unusual about the trench that the men hide in?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author demonstrates that in the war, life is cheap. Soldiers on both sides die for mundane reasons with no clear gain. The poilus of Bertrand's squad and others show that the deaths of strangers mean little to them, and the death of friends is common and unremarkable, though sad.

Part 1) Cite and explain examples from the book to show how the author establishes the poilus' attitude towards death..

Part 2) Discuss the theme of the cheapness of life. What are some of the smallest and most meaningless reasons that soldiers die in the novel? How do the soldiers react to these events?

Part 3) Do the men of Cpl. Bertrand's squad seem aware of the cheapness of their own lives? How do they deal with the nearly constant threat of death, and the knowledge that death may mean nothing?

Essay Topic 2

There are only a handful of times in the novel that the French and German soldiers come into peaceful contact, but these events are remarkable during war, and they stand out in the novel.

Part 1) Describe at least two scenes in the novel when French and German soldiers come into contact with one another without attempting to kill one another. Explain why the peaceful contact occurs.

Part 2) What do the French and German soldiers discuss when they are in contact? Are they still enemies? Why or or why not?

Part 3) Explain some of the themes of the novel elucidated by this type of contact.

Essay Topic 3

There is a wide gap in perceptions about the war between the soldiers who are fighting it and the civilians who learn about its progress from the media. A few times in the novel, the soldiers come into direct conflict with this misunderstanding, but do little to correct it.

Part 1) Describe how the civilians perceive the state and progress of the war. How accurate are these perceptions?

Part 2) How does the media shape the perceptions of the civilians of France? Does this manipulation seem intentional? Speculate about the motives of the media.

Part 3) Explain how the poilus perceive the war. How does this differ from public perception? Why do the soldiers fail to speak out to correct the civilians?

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This section contains 518 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample