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English 12
The Presence of Death

A Rumor of War Study Guide Questions
Use a separate sheet of your own paper to answer the following questions. Make sure that you answer in
complete sentences and that you thoroughly answer the questions with as much detail as possible.

A Rumor of War Study Guide Questions Chapter 1

Vocabulary word Definition
Apotheosis

Bund rally

Élan

Retrograde

Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Imprimatur

Bivouac

1. Why does Caputo say he was more prepared for death?

2. How does his experience make him different?

3. Explain the statement “Recovery has been less than total” (4).

4. How does his favorite boyhood memory foreshadow his choice to enlist?

5. Do you think the need to prove one’s self (6-7) is a good reason for a person to enlist? Explain.

6. Define “novitiates” (8). What does this comparison tell you about the Marine mentality?

7. Why do young people—who so easily take offense when they feel they are being treated
disrespectfully—submit to the kind of treatment described on page 8?

8. What purpose die the mental/physical abuse serve?

9. Combat situation =
Vertical Envelopment =
Hand-held =
Counter insurgency =

10. What physical and mental changes do the soldiers undergo as a result of their training?

1


Taciturn

Vesuvius

Facile

1. What is the metaphor used on page 26 to describe Lt. Colonel Marshall’s hobby? What is it he
actually does?

2. What does Caputo say made the men “thoroughly American” (27)?

3. According to Caputo, what brought most of the men into the service?

4. Look up Chosin Reservoir and explain its importance to the Marine Corp.

5. Who was Robert McNamara?

6. What does Caputo learn from Sgt. Fred Wagoner?

7. Why does Freeley’s rebuke bother Caputo so much and what lasting affect does it have on him?

8. What is your reaction to the lesson on ambushes Caputo describes (36)?


Insouciance

Bucolic

1. What is the literary allusion on page 41 and what does in mean in this context?

2. Why do you think Caputo includes comments about the future injuries of his fellow soldiers (see
49-51)?


Monotony

Complacent

2

1. What mental affect does fighting “phantoms” take on Caputo and the other men?

2. What does the term “Ice Cream Soldiers” make you picture? Why do the Marines use this term
when referring to Army soldiers?

3. How are Caputo’s descriptions of war in this chapter similar to and different from your
preconceived ideas about what war is like?

4. What causes the soldiers to become extremely tired even though they are not fighting?

5. What delayed the loading of the H-34’s?

6. Explain the idea of the “hammer and anvil” movement.

7. What is the contrast between Caputo and Colby, Campbell, and the other veterans at the end of
the chapter?


Malevolent

Pangee Trap

1. What happened to the French at Dien Bien Phu?

2. Do you think it was a coincidence they were served steak and eggs? Explain.

3. Were you surprised by Caputo’s confession of his feelings about going into battle? (81)

4. Why does Caputo expect the “great mountains to shake with contemptuous laughter” (82)?

5. What thoughts and events disturb Caputo when his platoon searches the village?

6. How does the “enemy” first look to Caputo?

7. What is Caputo’s reaction when first being shot at?


Proclivity

Wraith

3

1. What lessons does Caputo say can’t be taught in training camps?

2. Describe the “Happy Warrior” syndrome.

3. Review what happens on pages 108 to 110. Why does the 3d platoon destroy the village?
(Explain in detail)

4. What does Caputo say the soldiers have learned?


Napalm
Enfilade

1. Caputo often makes remarks like “only the very brave or the very dull—the two often went
together—“(112) and “[i]n Vietnam, the best soldiers were usually unimaginative men . . .” (85).
Explain why he says this. Do you think it is more difficult for creative thinkers to be soldiers?
Explain.

2. How are the forests—jungle—of Vietnam different than those Caputo explored as a boy? What
role does the jungle play in the fighting and in the mental state of the soldiers? Find one
quotation from the book (any chapter) to support this.

3. Caputo says “I tended to look upon war as an outdoor sport” (117). Explain in your own words
what he means by this. How does that attitude conflict with the circumstances in Vietnam?

4. During the “mop-up” after the firefight in chapter seven, what surprising things do Caputo and
his fellow Marines learn about the Viet Cong whom they are fighting?

5. What motivates Caputo to continue the search for dead or wounded VC even at the risk of
running into an ambush?

6. What conflicts with the Marine Corps’ training and makes it hard for Caputo and the others to
feel pride in what they have just accomplished?

7. What two meanings does the word “infantry” have? Why does one definition no longer apply to
the men in Caputo’s C Company?

8. Describe the contrast between death as the soldiers expected it to appear and death as it looks in
Vietnam. How does this difference affect Caputo’s faith?


Contempt
Pity

4

1. In addition to the Viet Cong, what enemies do the Marines face in Vietnam?

2. What is it about the villagers and their handling of tragedy that turns Caputo’s pity for them into
contempt? (133) Explain in detail.

3. Because this is a memoir, Caputo adds in thoughts or ideas to show what he learned after his
initial reactions. What did he later come to understand about the Vietnamese people that
explained the behavior he at first scorned? (134)

4. What phrase sums up the American arrogance in Vietnam?

5. Sgt. Colby says that “’. . .one of the most brutal things in the world is your average nineteen-year-
old American boy’” (137). Do you think that is just a condition of war, or is there some truth to
his statement even in peacetime? Give examples to explain your opinion.

6. Caputo was an English literature major in college, so he uses many literary allusions in his
writing. Find out who the character “Falstaff” is—what work of literature is he in, what type of
character is he? (139)

7. What does Caputo say he thinks of whenever he hears “some general who spent his tour looking
at maps and flitting around in helicopters claim that we could have won the war”? (147) How
does this memory relate to that statement?


Hierarchical

1. Why is Caputo so bothered by flinching at the sound of the howitzer?

2. What does Caputo fear is the reason the men seem different toward him and how do they treat
him?

3. What is the real reason the mood of the company has changed? How does Caputo react to this
news?

4. What horrific misunderstanding arises after C-Company fires off the WP?

5. What mental shift takes place in Caputo after talking to Lemmon and the others?

6. Why does this casualty mean so much? What contrasting statistics does Caputo use to explain
the importance of this death?

7. Can you list 108 people that you know? How would you feel if they all died within the space of
one hour?

8. What is the cycle in the infantry battalion by the end of the war?

5


Cauterize

Euphemism

1. Describe Caputo’s duties as assistant adjutant. What problems does Caputo find with the
organization of the regimental staff?

2. What beneficial effect does his job as casualty reporting officer have?

3. Why does Caputo find the KIA reports to be problematic? Why do you think the military
requires so much double-speak?

4. Describe the “scoreboard.” How do you feel about the existence of such a thing?

5. What does Caputo learn about the dead?

6. Why does Caputo give himself the new title of “Officer in Charge of the Dead”?

7. Describe the bizarre events surrounding the visit by General Thompson. How did you react to
this scene?

8. Did Caputo overreact in responding to the chaplain? Explain your position.


Reconnaissance

Esoteric

Minutiae

1. What odd things did the soldiers do to fill their days?

2. List the subjects of the “critical alerts” sent by the division general staff. What is Caputo’s tone
as he describes these messages?

3. Describe Major General Lew Walt. How does he differ from the other officers Caputo has
encountered?

4. What is ironic about the success of the attack on the airfield?

6


Sympathetic

Sympathetic Detonation

Blanched

Cafard

1. What is life like for the peasants of Vietnam?

2. Why do you suppose the war starts at night?

3. What makes Caputo say that at the end of the summer he was “much older than I am now” (192)?

4. How would you explain Caputo’s dream on page 199?

5. What are some of the symptoms of the psychological stress the soldiers endure?

6. When Caputo says on page 207 that “a man does not have to be killed or wounded to become a
casualty. His life, his sight, or limbs are not the only things he stands to lose” what do you
suppose he means they have lost? Support this with an example from the chapter or whole book.

7. How is this chapter a fitting end to the section?

Short Essay: Every chapter has started with a quotation. Select one of the quotations from any of the
twelve chapters. Explain what you think the quotation means. Review the chapter and explain how the
quotation fits the chapter it introduces.

7

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A rumor of war

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