Reference no: EM133287831
Assignment:
Book: The Things They Carried
Love (pages 27 -30)
1. Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried," written in third person? How does this serve to introduce the rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience of the novel so far when O'Brien switched to first person, and you realized the narrator was one of the soldiers?
2. What is the setting of this chapter?
3. What does Jimmy Cross confess to Tim O'Brien when he comes to visit him after the war? What was O'Brien's response?
4. During the war, Jimmy Cross survived by fantasizing. Explain what happened to Jimmy Cross's dream after the war.
5. O'Brien reveals that he has guilt that he cannot get over too, but he does not tell us what happened that makes him feel this way. How does this make you feel about O'Brien and his stories when he leaves you with unanswered questions?
Spin (pages 31-38)
1. Explain what happens to the setting in this chapter?
2. What does AWOL stand for?
3. Tim O'Brien shares several bad, peaceful, and happy stories in this chapter. Which war story leaves an impression on you? Explain why.
4. We also learn that Tim O'Brien is a writer. Why does he feel that writing about the war and all his memories is so important?
5. What happened to Curt Lemmon?
6. Different character's personalities are revealed in this chapter. What do we learn about Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Ted Lavender, Azar, and Tim O'Brien? Briefly describe the memory that O'Brien has of each of the men and what character trait about each man can you infer from the stories.
On the Rainy River (pages 37-58)
1. How did Tim feel about the Vietnam War while he was at college? Do his actions and language support the idea that he "hated" the Vietnam war?
2. What were Tim's options once he received his draft notice? Who did he hold responsible for his situation? Who did he think should go to war instead of him?
3. What does Tim say is Elroy Berdhal's role in his life? What sort of person was Elroy? How did Tim know?
4. How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story?: "This is the one story I've never told before. Not to anyone." What effect do they have on the reader?
5. Why does O'Brien relate his experience as a pig declotter? How does this information contribute to the story? Why go into such specific detail?
6. At the story's close, O'Brien almost jumps ship to Canada, but doesn't: "I did try. It just wasn't possible." What has O'Brien learned about himself, and how does he return home as a changed person?
7. In this chapter, we learn the 21-year-old O'Brien's theory of courage: "Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day when the account must be drawn down. It was a comforting theory." What might the 43-year-old O'Brien's theory of courage be?