Question

Read the excerpt from A Rumor of War.

Answer 1

The best answer for this question would be:

B) to illustrate the hardships faced by soldiers who have fought in wars.

This is because the narrator describes his characters as actual people who have experienced the horrors of war and that it can change your point of view in life. 

Answer 2

Which best describes the purpose of the paradox in the excerpt?

The correct answer is C) to emphasize the difficulties faced by soldiers in untraditional warfare.

• In this excerpt, it is clearly stated that the soldier is facing some difficulties in an unconventional war. He is saying that an unconventional war is monotonous and there is an utter lack of passion while fighting the war. Conventional wars were more purposeful, they had a bigger objective for humankind. Perhaps fighting against Nazis had a bigger purpose, soldiers who fought WW2 fought against racism, discrimination, genocide, it was a bigger cause. Fighting against genocide was a cause that brought dramatism into WW2 and made historic battles.  The objective for fighting the Vietnam war, was to reduce communist influences around the world, which was taken big steps forward. A war against ideologies sometimes is not worth fighting for.