Starship Troopers 11

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 11

If you are looking for the beginning of the study of Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of available book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Prudence, Love, Family

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did the Navy man insinuate about the M.I. to Johnnie?

2. What did Archie Campbell make for Captain Deladrier?

3. What caused some tension between Johnnie and some of the men now under his command?

4. How did Johnnie sort out his issues with Ace?

5. What did we learn about the state of the Bug War even though the soldiers “certainly didn’t know” it?

6. What was the “rule of thumb” for determining which bugs were warriors?

7. What had changed as far as the M.I.’s tactics against the Bugs?

8. What did the men attempt to do in honor of Jelly’s new role as Lieutenant?

9. How did the planet Sanctuary differ from Earth?

10. What two things made Sanctuary “a delightful place” and better than Terra for R&R?

11. What ran Johnnie out of money to the point of having to walk back to base rather than take a cab?

12. What did Ace encourage Johnnie to do with his life?

13. What did Jelly have ready to go for Johnnie, before he even asked for it?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What did Johnnie mean when he said, “I was a corporal when Jelly said I was a corporal; the rest was red tape?”

2. Why did Ace tell Johnnie to him at the end of their fight?

3. Why did Johnnie’s fight with Ace make things better between them?

4. Compare and contrast the M.I. against the Bugs. What seem to be their various strengths and weaknesses in this war?

5. Why would Captain Deladrier require Jelly to “eat forward with the other officers?”

6. Why was Jelly adamantly against changing the name of the “outfit?”

7. What did Johnnie mean by saying, “It’s good to know that the ultimate reason you are fighting actually exists and that they are not just a figment of the imagination?”

8. Why did Ace think Johnnie was the right kind of person to become a career officer in the M.I.?

9. Johnni said, “it wasn’t the process of voting that made a citizen.” What did he mean by that?

10. What do you think was the primary reason why Johnnie decided to take Ace’s advice about going career?

11. What should be inferred from the fact that Jelly had Johnnie’s paperwork ready for him?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Johnnie asked the question, “How can you talk about a drop to a man who has never made one?” To what extent is shared experience necessary for communication? How might we be able to overcome the hurdle of lacking shared experiences and still be able to meaningfully engage someone about a topic? Consider the role of literature as a form of gaining experiences, how might that play into this conversation?

2. In this story the M.I. don’t tell their soldiers anything that they wouldn’t want to fall into the hands of their enemies. In light of this, can ignorance sometimes be a good thing? Should a Christian willfully submit to living a life of ignorance and following orders without reason or explanation? What arguments might be made in favor of doing so? How might you argue against doing so? Where do you stand in the end?

3. Johnnie talked to the research scientist about Sanctuary’s lack of radiation and mutation which, the book argues, is necessary for evolution to continue. The researcher “predicted that they,” the settlers on Sanctuary, “would not do anything” to facilitate evolution on their planet. In other words, the settlers would not dose themselves (or their planet) with radiation in order to allow evolution to do its job for the good of future generations. Here is the question. To what extent does every present generation have an obligation to work for the good of future, not yet existent, generations? What parameters should guide what the current generation should or should not do for the sake of those who do not currently exist? Do we have moral obligations to potential people in the future? Explain your thoughts and your reasoning carefully.

4. The story tells us, “As long as you were still in uniform you weren’t entitled to vote.” Should people actively serving in the military have the right to vote? Why or why not?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read 2 Timothy 2:3-4. What bearing does this passage of Scripture have upon your thoughts of military service?

2. Read Luke 7:1-10. How might we relate this passage to our current reading?