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

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator describes the field of corpses being processed as being like which of the following?

2. What biblical location does the narrator allude to as he carries Joseph to safety?

3. How does Pépin die?

4. What does the Foreign Legionnaire try to give to his comrade?

5. What does a sapper do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The brutality and deprivation of life in the trenches is a near-constant throughout the squad's travels and experiences. Although many men of the squad grumble and complain about their conditions, others develop a philosophical outlook and accept their state for as long as they must. This struggle to deal with the seemingly unbearable conditions in the trenches is a constant psychological challenge for the men of the squad, alleviated occasionally by leave and quartering in villages.

Part 1) Describe some of the hardships faced by the men when living in the trenches. How healthy and sanitary are the conditions? How much protection do the men have from weather or from sudden enemy attack? How comfortably are they able to eat, live, and sleep?

Part 2) Explain some of the ways that the men deal with their situation in the trenches. What luxuries and activities are considered welcome diversions? Explain examples discussed in the book of the men acting to make their situation physically more pleasant. Discuss psychological adaptations that the men make to better deal with their surroundings.

Part 3) How do the men react to the occasional respite from trench life? What luxuries of normal life do they relish? How do the men make the most of their leaves and opportunities to escape from the trenches?

Essay Topic 2

Functional equipment is discussed throughout the novel indirectly by the narrator and openly by members of the squad. The men live and sometimes die by the equipment that they carry, and so its nature, maintenance and quality is of utmost importance. The men use a variety of standard issue, irregular, and even improvised equipment.

Part 1) What do the men think of their standard-issue equipment and supplies from the government? Do they generally find that these things are adequate for their day-to-day needs and the demands of battle?

Part 2) How do the men supplement their government-issued equipment? How do they personalize and augment their clothing, weapons, and supplies?

Part 3) What are the men's priorities when selecting and dealing with their equipment? What factors seem most important, and which seem of little relevance to them?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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