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I often teach World War II and Vietnam era literature.  I'm always looking for fresh and interesting essay prompts. 

Yesterday I heard a story on NPR about one of my favorite WWII journalists, A.J. Liebling.  His collected works are being released by the Library of America. 

(http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=282)

In the interview, Liebling said something that struck me as both profound and as a potential writing prompt.  He said:  "Cynicism is often the shamefaced product of inexperience."

I am thinking here of "A Farewell to Arms."  What other war literature, or other literature in general, might this prompt be used? 

The Things They Carried and  Catch-22 come immediately to my mind.

Very cool topic.  Thanks for posting the NPR link.

I haven't read it yet, but many reviewers are describing Tree of Smoke as the final word in Vietnam War literature. From what I've gathered, cynicism and inexperience are the crux of the book. 

My all-time favorite poem about war is Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est." Others include Hardy's "The Man He Killed" and Reed's "The Naming of Parts."

Here are some good web sites:

http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/tutorials/intro/