History 371 Hon

Devine

Study Questions for Wartime

Next Wednesday, October 27, we will be discussing Paul Fussell’s book, Wartime. Remember that you are only required to read chapters 1-3, 5, 7, 9-11, 13, and 18.

The following questions will help guide your reading. The number in parentheses is the chapter to which the question corresponds.

As you read the chapters, be on the lookout for the euphemisms that Fussell mentions in his preface. Also, make note of the sources Fussell uses – especially his uses of popular culture – to support his arguments.

1. In what ways did the realities of war clash with memory and tradition? (1)

2. What constituted the changes from “heavy” to “light” duty? (1)

3. In what ways did memory and tradition give way to necessity? (1)

4. Why was there a disparity between the claims and realities surrounding the effectiveness of heavy bombing? (2)

5. What sorts of “blunders” occurred throughout the war? What caused them? Why are they largely unknown? (3)

6. In what ways did troops sense a connection between school life and their war experiences? (5)

7. Fussell discusses “…behavior that makes military life worse than it need be…” (80) What are some causes and expressions of that behavior and how did it impact morale? (7)

8. In what ways did troops “reduce the world to a simplified sketch featuring a limited series of [military, civilian and enemy] classifications into which people…are fitted?” (115) Why did troops create classifications and how did they determine who belonged in which category? (9)

9. How did the troops behave differently towards members of different classifications? (9)

10. What were the causes and expressions of the “general disillusionment” that” preceded the first shot?” (130) (10)

11. How did soldiers deal with answering the question, “What are men dying for?” (10)

12. In what ways does Fussell support the assertion that “the war seemed so devoid of ideological content?” (136) (10)

13. What was the significance of morale? (11)

14. What euphemisms were employed to keep morale high? (11)

15. What attempts were made to lift morale both in the theater of operations and on the home front? (11)

16. In what way did the military employ advertising techniques in keeping morale high? How were their efforts helpful, or sometimes, detrimental to the Allied war effort? (11)

17. How did radio, popular music, and movies all speak with “one voice” during the war? How did the government assure that all spoke with “one voice”? (13)

18. What judgments does Fussell make of wartime magazine and radio advertising? How was it different – and perhaps more troubling – than the ads during World War I? (13)

19. What led the troops to believe that “optimistic publicity and euphemism had rendered their experience so falsely that it would never be readily communicable?” (268) (18)

20. According to the author, “Americans were unable to grasp the meaning of the war and wartime combat experiences.” (268) Why was that so? (18)