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

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the things that American soldiers were told they were fighting for?

3. Which of the following is one major type of resource that American citizens were deprived of during the war?

4. Books produced specifically for servicemen were made specially in what way?

5. The term "Chad" originated where?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How did media organizations gain access to war zones for their reporters?

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

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

10. How were books adapted for soldiers' use, and how did these changes persist after the war?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nations on all sides recruited soldiers around the age of 18, since young men were considered to be ideal soldiers. For better or worse, young men fought and won the war.

1) Explain why young men were considered to be ideal candidates for training as soldiers.

2) Why is it important for soldiers to exhibit aggression? Explain why young men around the age of 18 are prime candidates in this regard.

2) Discuss why military leaders believed young men to be easier to lead and less likely to question the purpose of the war. Was this supposition valid?

3) Discuss the use of very young soldiers by the axis powers late in the war. Was this type of recruitment immoral, or supportable given their circumstances?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the second World War, soldiers faced constant hazing from their officers. Although largely successful in helping to establish and maintain discipline, these measures were always demeaning, and sometimes dangerous.

1) Explain the unofficial policy of hazing in the US military during World War II.

2) Discuss why this policy was used, and what the army expected to gain through it.

3) Describe some of the unintended side-effects of hazing on the enlisted men.

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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