Name __________________________________________
Date ____
Test Date ____
Review for The Things They Carried
In preparation for your test on the novel, review the following:
Characters:
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Tim O’Brien
Henry Dobbins
Kiowa
Azar—cruel, sadistic
Mitchell Sanders
Narrator
Ted Lavender
Mary Anne
Soldier Tim killed
Themes:
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Courage/lacking courage (Can you think of specific examples?)
Purpose of storytelling
Story Truth/Happening Truth
Purpose of writing/telling stories
The Things They Carried (consider the literal meaning and the larger metaphor of carrying)
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What the men carried:
Kiowa—bible
Cross—pics of Martha
Ted Lavender—Tranquilizers
Dobbins—pantyhose
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Literally---carrying supplies
Emotionally—carried fear, principles
Chapters to review:
Chapter
“On the Rainy River”
“How to Tell a True
War Story”
Characters and
their Actions
Narrator—Tim
Mitchell Sanders
Plot Details
Significance/Theme(s)
Tim must make a decision after
receiving his draft notice—
should he go to Canada or stay in
the US and go to war. He stays
at a lodge with Elroy, an older
man, who pays him for help
around the lodge. Elroy feeds
him, brings him to the boarder,
allows Tim to make his own
decision whether to go to war or
not. Elroy doesn’t judge Tim. In
the end,
Tim DOES NOT go to Canada. He
decides to go to war rather than
be criticized.
Courage as a Theme
“I was a coward, I went
to war.”
Men go into the jungle and hear
things. Because they have to
remain silent, their minds get
carried away. This story can only
be told by using exaggeration—it
makes the psychological tension
of being at war real. Men hear
violins, a cocktail party, chamber
orchestras, a rock band. In order
to make the noise stop they
throw bombs. When they come
back to camp, they refuse to tell
the Colonel why they bombed
and used so much fire power.
Instead of answering him, they
just walked away without saying
anything. SOME things you can’t
explain—you just have to be
there!
Exaggeration—it makes
the psychological
tension of being at war
real.
Tim—being courageous
would have been to act
on his convictions. He
is shamed into going
into war because he
doesn’t want to feel the
criticism of the people
back home.
Acting on societal
pressure
War can’t be explained
Experience can’t be
explained
“Sweetheart of the
Song of Tra Bong”
Mary Anne
“The Man I Killed”
Tim
Mark Fossie brings his girlfriend
Mary Anne to war. She starts off
being feminine, light hearted—
wears culottes. Then she cuts her
hair, assists in operations, goes
on ambush with the Green
Berets. She changes into a
savage. Her eyes change blue to
green. She wears a human
tongue necklace. She becomes
more primitive, part of the
jungle.
Tim killed a 19-year-old
Vietnamese soldier
-Vietnamese soldier felt forced
into going to war (much like Tim,
he didn’t want to feel shame
from his family, didn’t really
want to go to war).
--VC soldier had a girlfriend,
wanted to be a math teacher
Kiowa asks Tim to speak, but he
can’t. He is too shocked.
Effects of war
--it changes not only the
young men, but Mary
Anne
--it is just as disturbing
to see Mary Anne
become a cold blooded
killer as it is the young
male soldiers
--everyone has the
potential for evil/to kill
--gender stereotypes of
women (looking pretty
vs. becoming savage
and brutal, assisting
with medical help,
handling a gun,
capabilities of women
in war)
Guilt
Shock
Trauma
-Tim can’t stop staring
at the dead VC soldier
Story Truth—Tim couldn’t
possibly stare at the body for 45
minutes. In the story he can
accept responsibility for the
death. He has been haunted by
it for 20 years.
“Good Form”
Story Truth
Happening Truth
Story Truth = can make
things present and help
people take
responsibility
Happening Truth = just
telling what happened,
but not necessarily
taking responsibility.
Chapter
Characters and
their Actions
“Ghost Soldiers”
Narrator (consider
how he changes)
Plot Details
Significance/Theme(s)
Tim gets shot 2x
Bobby Jorgensen gets to Tim too
late and doesn’t treat him for
shock.
Tim wants revenge against
Bobby. He creates a way to
scare Bobby by making noises in
the brush.
Azar helps him. (We know Azar
takes pleasure in evil activities.)
*Change in Tim—we
see him become more
evil due to the effects of
being at war.
Revenge
*Change in Tim—no longer the
sweet boy from Minnesota
Tim and Jorgensen make up at
the end. Tim jokes that they
should kill Azar.
List 2 Main Events
“The Lives of the
Dead”
“The Things They
Carried”
Martha
Jimmy Cross
--Ted Lavender dies
--soldiers trash the villiage out of
anger
--Cross burns photos of Martha
since he accepts blame for
Lavender’s death (he was
distracted with Martha and
looking at her photo)
Examine the metaphor
at the end
Repetition
--Cross carries a picture
of Martha
--Ted Lavender got shot
in the head –
emphasizes the impact
of the death on the
soldiers and Jimmy
Cross
What the men carried:
Kiowa—bible
Cross—pictures of
Martha
Ted Lavender—
Tranquilizers
Dobbins—pantyhose
Literally---carrying
supplies
Emotionally—carried
fear, principles