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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 was the impact of the relatively large number of books read by some servicemen during the war?

2. How completely did the mainstream media cover events of the war?

3. How did the media handle the worst aspects of the war?

4. What did the average soldiers believe about the meaning of the war?

5. How accepting were most soldiers of the media's interpretation of the meaning of the war?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is one way that a person could become considered to be subversive?

2. How did the average soldier view the war?

3. Why did citizens in the US and England suffer from deprivation?

4. What qualities caused an idiom to transfer to enter the general vocabulary?

5. What is one type of preparation that was made in England in anticipation of an invasion?

6. Why were front line soldiers confused by media presentations of the war?

7. How did soldiers react to the media's presentation of the war?

8. How and why did the media fail to report the entire story of the war?

9. What does the author believe about the phenomenon of attributing high-minded ideals to the purpose of a war?

10. What critical knowledge did an average soldier typically lack?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Americans placed great stock in their new lines of heavy bombers, which were predicted to be able to win the war quickly and easily, but the reality proved very different.

1) Explain why Americans put so much faith and hope in the doctrine of precision bombing.

2) Explain the doctrine of precision bombing and how it was expected to end the war.

3) Discuss the difficulties in implementing a campaign of precision bombing, and how American strategy changed as a result.

Essay Topic 2

The nature of warfare, especially in World War II, made mistakes commonplace and almost unavoidable. The military and media handled these sometimes deadly mistakes in a way that might be considered disingenuous or immoral.

1) Discuss the factors that contribute to blunders being made in warfare. Explain why warfare is more prone to these mistakes than other ventures, and why the combat in World War II was especially so.

2) Explain some of the major types of military blunders that occurred in World War II, including recognition error and friendly fire.

3) Describe the ways that the military and media reacted to military blunders.

Essay Topic 3

Many soldiers believed in Talismans.

1) Describe what a talisman is and why they concept was embraced by soldiers.

2) Discuss the types of objects that were used as talismans and why their origins caused them to be considered important.

3) Speculate as to how seriously most soldiers believed in the protective powers of the talismans.

4) Discuss the importance of the talismans as devices to comfort and reassure soldiers placed in brutal and violent conditions.

(see the answer keys)

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