Starship Troopers 3

Study Guide Questions for Chapter Three

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)

Ignorance, Recklessness, Prudence, Revenge

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What thing was Johnnie surprised to learn that “anyone seriously intended” him to do?

2. How was Sergeant Zim described?

3. What did Jenkins do that got him noticed by Sergeant Zim and what did he have to do because of it?

4. What was Sergeant Zim’s appraisal of his new recruits?

5. What did Zim ask the “jungle lice” if anyone thought they could do?

6. Which soldiers took up Zim’s invitation and what were the various results of those engagements?

7. What did Johnnie say Zim never did again after that morning?

8. What did Johnnie say was good about meal times?

9. What was Jenkins' demeanor like when he finally showed up at breakfast?

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

1. Why was Sergeant Zim’s appearance such a stark contrast to Johnnie’s and the other recruits?

2. Why do you think Zim gave Jenkins such a hard time?

3. What was Zim’s purpose in offering the men a chance to try to “whip” him?

4. What could be inferred from the presence of two German soldiers being at Camp Arthur Currie? 

5. According to Sergeant Zim, “any group is weaker than a man alone unless they are perfectly trained to work together.” Why might this be so?

6. What did Shujumi mean when he told Zim, “contest rules would be more prudent?”

7. What does the interaction between Johnnie and Jenkins at the end of the chapter suggest about their respective characters?

8. What seems to be the overall objective which the officers at camp Currie are seeking to achieve on the new recruits’ first day of Basic?

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

1.  Would you say the kind of rough treatment that the new recruits received from the officers at Camp Currie was necessary or unnecessary? Explain why you think as you do and defend your answer with good reasoning.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Matthew 8:5-13 and 2 Timothy 2:1-7. How might military service be helpful, to some extent, in understanding what it means to be a good Christian?