The Things They Carried Analysis
Name _________________________________________________________ Period______
Directions: Read and respond thoughtfully to the questions below.
1. The chapter “How to Tell a True War Story” presents a number of contradictions. Analyze
what these contradictions seem to suggest about war:
“The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in
truth war is also beauty…” (80).
What does the narrator seem to mean? ______________________________________________
“…proximity to death brings with it a corresponding proximity to life…” (81).
Again, what does the narrator seem to mean here? _____________________________________
“…a true war story does not depend upon…truth. Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing
may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth”
(83).
Again, what does the narrator seem to mean here? _____________________________________
2. “…war has the feel—the spiritual texture—of a great ghostly fog, thick and permanent.
There is not clarity. Everything swirls” (82).
What is the effect of this description of war? _________________________________________
3. Re-read the final paragraph on page 85. The narrator suggests that a true war story is not
about war. What is it really about? What does he mean?