Discussion Questions
February 3, 2009
- **What is the image of
the soldier, and/or the society which produced that soldier, in The
Drive to Recruit? What themes, pressures, emotions, etc. were
brought to bear on the process? Be certain to write
a short notation for each poster for your discussion. A review of
IMPORTANT NOTE ON VISUAL
SOURCES will help you
with this exercise.
- **How were children
"used" in the war effort? Please apply
the same process and instructions to these images as in question 1.
- **According
to Marwick, which groups were the most affected by the war experience?
Which were the least affected? Do you agree with Marwick?
- What was significant about the Lusitania
incident beyond simply the large death toll?
- **In the
context of war, what is free will? To what extent is the individual able
to exercise his or her free will? What are the factors or circumstances
by which individual free will is limited?
- What does "the agony letter" from Vera
Brittain tell us about women's experiences during the war, and
about a society at war generally? Does it fit with
Winter's argument for "the lost generation", and if so, how?
- **What evidence could be used to argue that, for the
homefront, life continued very much as before the war? (Remember that in the
study of history, continuity is as important as change. What doesn't
change and why, is as important as what does change.)
- On what evidence could you support Fussell's contention
that heroism had disappeared with the war?
If Fussell is correct, what might be the impact of that on the war effort?
- "The war was a
much more difficult experience for the civilian, for at least the soldier
had a well defined role and objective." Discuss this contention
with reference to the readings in the course to this
point.
Note: The ** denotes
themes or questions which we will be addressing throughout this course.