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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 other outlets are specifically cited in Chapter 13 for adopting the tone and texture of official media?

2. Most soldiers believed that their actual wartime experiences would be reported when?

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

4. Why were novels produced before the war more popular than contemporary ones?

5. The media tended to do what with negative reports from the war?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did the media imply God's involvement in the war?

3. Why did wartime reporting often fail to capture the realities of warfare?

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

5. What types of stories would be most likely to be reported on?

6. What does RADAR stand for?

7. Simply stated, what is the policy of "accentuating the positive"?

8. What was the overall reading experience of citizens and soldiers like during the war?

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

10. How often did soldiers read and what impact did it have on them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rumors emerged and spread rapidly through the ranks of the enlisted men during World War II, and were apparently believed by many soldiers - sometimes by soldiers on both sides of the war.

1) Explain why rumors were likely to emerge in the conditions that soldiers lived in. What did rumors provide for the soldiers?

2) Discuss some of the types of rumors believed by the soldiers.

3) Speculate as to why fanciful and easily disprovable ideas were continued to be embraced.

Essay Topic 2

Most soldiers quickly developed a feeling that there was no meaning for the war. Although they were frequently told what they were fighting for, they had no idea why they were fighting,

1) Explain why many soldiers felt that there was an ideological void in the meaning and purpose of the war.

2) Discuss some attempts that the media made to fill this void and discuss why these attempts did not resonate with the soldiers. What were troops told they were fighting for?

3) Explain the consequences of this ideological void on the psychological states and lives of individual soldiers.

Essay Topic 3

The reading experience of citizens and soldiers alike during the war was bland and uniform. In the media and even in other mediums such as fiction, poetry, and films, there was a tendency towards homogenization that became mind-numbing to many.

1) Discuss the general reading experience of soldiers and citizens during World War II. Explain some of the problems in the publishing industry from an entertainment perspective.

2) Describe the common American soldiers interest in reading and how, why, and when this distraction became common in the ranks.

3) Explain some of the changes in the publishing market that were brought about by the war.

(see the answer keys)

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