War by Sebastian Junger, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
A fair warning: both books focus on the combat aspect of war. Both books include details of being shot
and/or injured or killed—the details both authors include are not gory, but they are startling. As these
areas may be difficult for some to read/talk about, we will fully respect each other’s differences and needs
in class as we discuss. Please see me ahead of time if there is something too disturbing for you to discuss
in class.
One of the goals of reading these books simultaneously is to see the reality of war as presented by a
journalist (where we will need to discuss his objectivity and subjectivity) and see how a veteran from war
turned those realities into metaphors in order to tell a story both authors admit can’t be put into words.
In order to accomplish this in the limited time span, we will read only certain chapters in War and in The
Things They Carried (from here on TTTC).
Reading Assignment
As you read:
 Answer the questions you are given for TTTC (printed on the back)
 For War, summarize what you read and record your personal reactions—include questions you
have, etc. This will be used for discussion and will, otherwise, only be seen by the teacher.
o Your questions can be unanswerable.
o This assignment for war must show your sincerity in having read and thought about what
you read.
These will be collected randomly—from random students at random times. All of you will have at
least one set of each (one set of questions and one set of notes) collected and graded by the end of this
unit with each set counting for 100 points.
Reading Schedule
 May 23 – War: Section "Fear", pages 1-35, 53-80 (total = 57 pages)
 May 29 – TTTC: title chapter (first chapter)
 June 3 – War: Section "Killing", pages 115-125, 131-168 (total = 47 pages)
 June 7 – TTTC: How to Tell a True War Story
 June 11 – War: Section "Love", pages 193-215, 229-246 (total = 38 pages)
 June 14 – TTTC: The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
Note: I wish to thank the Parents’ Council for funding this endeavor in buying the books, as well I am grateful to my junior
classes of Spring 2012—their feedback during this pilot year was invaluable and changed the scope and focus.
The Things They Carried
Reading Questions
The Things They Carried – title story
1. What is a grunt? What does it mean “to hump”?
2. What types of things do the men carry? Don’t list the things; just list all of the types of things
they carry.
3. What did you expect to happen to Lee Strunk when he had to go into the tunnel? Why did you
expect that?
4. What happens to Ted Lavender? When and why did it happen? Did you expect it?
5. What do you think is the point of this chapter?
How to Tell a True War Story
WARNING: This chapter contains some disturbing violence committed against a human and, later, a
water buffalo. The violence to the water buffalo is graphic but it is not a real-life event –it is symbolic.
Very Helpful Hint: Read the entire chapter first, just read it, then look at the questions and answer them.
Some of the questions may have pieces of their answers in more than one spot.
1. The narrator gives ten features of a true war story. List the ten features.
2. Why is Rat Kiley so disappointed when Curt Lemon’s sister doesn’t answer his letter?
3. Summarize the story of the soldiers who were in the fog-shrouded mountains for seven straight
nights.
4. What do you think about the story of Rat Kiley’s violence to the baby water buffalo?
5. Summarize or quote Curt Lemon’s “final truth.” What do you think it means?
6. What does the narrator mean by saying that the story was a love story?
Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
1. What are coolats as they are used in this story?
2. Describe Mary Anne—feel free to quote from the book or just summarize it.
3. Summarize what happens to Mary Anne in this story. (You will need to read the entire story to
answer this)
4. What does Mary Anne wear around her neck in the end? Be specific with detail.
5. Why do you think O’Brien created and focused on Mary Anne for this story? Look at your
answer to question 2—isn’t she out of place? Think—why would this work of fiction focus on
“Mary Anne” like this?
6. How is this story a true war story? You just learned about “how to tell a true war story” from the
previous reading. Answer this question as completely as possible.