Reading Schedule
“The Things They Carried”
AP Lang and Comp: The Things They Carried
Due:
A days
4/14
B days
4/13
”Love,” ”Spin,” and ”On the Rainy River”
4/18
4/15
”Enemies,” ”Friends,” ”How to Tell a True War Story,”
4/20
4/19
”The Dentist” and ”Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”
4/22
4/21
”Stockings,” ”Church,” ”The Man I Killed,” ”Ambush,” and ”Style”
4/26
4/25
”Speaking of Courage,” ”Notes,” ”In the Field,” and ”Good Form”
4/28
4/27
”Field Trip,” ”The Ghost Soldiers,” ”Night Life,” and ”The Lives of the Dead”
5/2
4/29
Assignments
1. Multiple choice responses will be distributed for each reading assignment. They will be stamped and due
each day. You are not required to annotate, but it is suggested you define any words you do not know.
2. For each section of reading, you will have specific analysis questions. These are due each day.
Acronym and Vocab List
1. SOP—standard operating procedure
2. RTO-regimental training officer, also radio technical officer
3. Psy Ops leaflets—psychological operations (warfare) leaflets
4. Toe Poppers and Bouncing Betties—land mines
5. KIA—killed in action
6. MIA—missing in action
7. CO—conscientious objector
8. Willie Peter—white phosphorous (a form of firepower, ignites easily and quickly)
9. HE—high explosive
10. LP—long range patrol
11. LZ—landing zone
12. AO—Area of Operation
13. NCO—noncommissioned officer
14. ARVN—Armed Republic of Vietnam or Army of the Republic of Vietnam
15. EM club—enlisted men’s club
16. C-130—a large aircraft, cargo plane
17. VC—Vietcong
18. AK-47—automatic assault rifle
19. M-16 and M-60—automatic rifle and machine gun
20. MP—military police
21. CID—intelligence people
22. Claymore—a mine
23. NVA buildup—North Vietnamese buildup for assault
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Support your statements and include
analysis.
Chapter 1: “The Things They Carried”
1. Think about the many meanings of the word things. Why does the author use this word? What
nonmaterial things can you see the characters carrying, even if they are not stated?
2. What does Lt. Cross mean he speaks about grieving for Martha because she belongs to a world that isn’t
quite real? Pick apart that passage to determine the author’s message.
3. Write a paragraph about what you carry. Try to imitate O’Brien’s style.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4: “Love,” “Spin,” and “On the Rainy River”
1. Speaking of courage as a kind of commodity stored up for the moment when it is needed, the narrator
expresses what he felt in 1968:
“If the stakes ever became high enough…I would simply tap a secret reservoir of courage that
had been accumulating inside me over the years. …it offered hope and grace to the repetitive
coward…”
Analyze the diction O’Brien uses here…how does the diction impact the effect of his statement?
2. Describing his reasons for going to war, he writes,
“I would go to the war—I would kill and maybe die—because I was embarrassed not to…I was
a coward. I went to the war.”
Analyze the syntax in this passage. How does it make the statement more effective for his purpose?
Chapters 5, 6, and 7: “Enemies,” ”Friends,” and ”How to Tell a True War Story”
1. How does Curt Lemon’s death contrast Ted Lavender’s?
2. In “How to Tell a True War Story,” the narrator explains that true events may actually be a lie and that
fictional events may be “truer than the truth.” Analyze his meaning of this paradox.
Chapters 8 and 9: ”The Dentist” and ”Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”
1. Tone analysis: What is the tone of “The Sweetheart…”? What devices are used to develop this tone?
Analyze HOW the devices contribute to the author’s attitude and purpose. How is the mood of this
chapter different from the previous ones?
2. Find at least two examples of animal imagery used to develop Mary Anne’s character. What is the
author’s purpose for using animal imagery?
Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14: “Stockings,” “Church,” “The Man I Killed,” “Ambush,” and “Style”
1. Read the first paragraph of “Stockings.” In this paragraph the author compares Henry Dobbins to the
United States. Defend, challenge, or qualify this comparison and give examples that show if this is at
least a somewhat accurate picture of our nation and its involvement with nations around the world.
2. Azar and Henry Dobbins try to determine why the young girl is dancing after her family members have
been killed. Why do you think she reacts as she does? Defend, challenge, or qualify Henry’s anger
when Azar imitates the girl’s dance.
Chapters 15, 16, 17, 18: “Speaking of Courage,” “Notes,” “In the Field,” and “Good Form”
1. What is the overall tone of “Speaking of Courage?” What stylistic devices are used to develop this tone?
2. Examine the issue of guilt in “In the Field.” What is the author’s message? How do you know?
Analyze the stylistic devices used to create the message in the chapter.
3. Did Tim kill a Vietnamese soldier, or did he not? Does it matter? Why did the author make this issue
so ambiguous? Analyze his purpose.
Chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22: “Field Trip,” “The Ghost Soldiers,” “Night Life,” and “The Lives of the Dead”
1. What is the author’s purpose for including Linda’s story in a book about the war in Vietnam?
2. Review the last sentence of the novel. In “The Lives of the Dead,” Tim implies that stories save people.
What does he mean? What is the author conveying with these final words? Analyze the style.