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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. Overall, the deprivation faced by American and British citizens would best be described as which of the following?

2. Why did most media outlets adopts their reaction to the requirements placed on them?

3. Why does the author regard the deprivation of soldiers as unremarkable?

4. Media outlets were concerned with the esprit de corps in what areas?

5. What was done in England to frustrate a potential invading force?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Overall, what was the media portrayal of the war like?

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

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

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

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

8. How did most media outlets react to the requirements placed on them?

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

10. What were the most important types of media during the war?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

For the first time during World War II, soldiers were treated as perfectly uniform and interchangeable parts. This treatment gradually crept into the minds of the men, further damaging their sense of self-worth.

1) Explain the concept of individuality and its importance and prevalence in a Democracy like America.

2) Discuss how and why soldiers were treated as being faceless and non-unique for the first time during World War II.

3) Describe the impact that this treatment had on American soldiers, and what problems it caused for them.

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.

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