Name: __________________
The Things They Carried
By: Tim O’Brien
Chapter 1, “The Things They Carried” p.1-26
1. What do the things each soldier carries reveal about him?
2. Why such an emphasis on the weight of things?
3. What non-tangible items do the soldiers carry?
4. Why does Lt. Cross burn Martha’s letters and photographs?
5. Look at the passage (p. 10-11) about searching the tunnels. How is “the waiting worse than the
tunnel itself”?
Chapter 2, “Love” p. 27-30
6. The point of view switches from third to first person here. Why do you think that is?
7. How does this later visit with Jimmy Cross relate to the idea of the things they carried?
Chapter 3, “Spin” p. 31-38
8. Describe how ”the war was like a ping-pong ball”.
9. Why the reference to checkers in this chapter?
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10. What is the average age of the soldiers?
11. What does the last paragraph tell us stories are for?
12. What types of memories are included in this chapter and why are they important?
Chapter 4, “On the Rainy River” p. 39-61
13. How do the opening sentences prepare you for the story: “This is one story I’ve never told
before. Not to anyone.” What effect do they have on you as a reader?
14. According to our narrator, “All of us, I suppose, like to believe that in a moral emergency we
will behave like the heroes of our youth” (39). Do you agree with this statement? Why or why
not?
15. The narrator questions the war on p. 40. What stand does he take on the war itself? Why?
16. What does the narrator mean when he says on p. 44 that “a draft board did not let you
choose your war.”
17. What is the narrator’s “moral split” in this chapter?
18. Why does the narrator express such a sense of shame on p. 52?
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19. At the end of this chapter, why does he say going to war is the cowardly thing?
Chapters 5, “Enemies” and 6, “Friends” p. 62-66
20. What is there about life-and-death situations that cut through those things that hinder
trust and friendship?
21. How were Strunk and Jensen affected by the war?
Chapter 7, “How to Tell a True War Story” p. 67-85
22. What are the various things O’Brien says a “true war story must have?”
23. What really matters in a true war story?
24. What is the significance of the killing of the baby water buffalo?
25. In what sense is this novel a love story?
26. How many times are we told the story of Curt Lemon’s death? What are the differences in
the way the story is told?
27. Explain the last paragraph of the story.
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Chapter 8, “The Dentist” p. 86-88
28. The narrator makes generalizations about war and how it can be experienced. Can you
relate to any of this? If so, to what parts of your life do these comments connect?
Chapter 9, “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” p. 89-116
29. Explain what Green Berets are
30. Is this a “war story”? How and why?
31. Why do you think O’Brien keeps stopping the story so that other characters can comment on
it?
32. Does it matter, in the end, what happened to Mary Anne?
33. Explain the following statement: “What happened to her was what happened to all of them.
You come over clean and you get dirty and then afterward it’s never the same.”
Chapter 12, "The Man I Killed" p. 124-130, Chapter 13, "Ambush" p. 131-134, & Chapter 18,
"Good Form" p. 179-180
34. How is the dead man described on page 139-40?
35. Why does O'Brien construct a hypothetical biography for the dead man?
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36. What is O'Brien's emotional reaction to the dead man?
37. What does Kiowa want O'Brien to do?
38. In "Ambush," O'Brien writes, "This is why I keep writing war stories." What is "this"?
39. Why does O'Brien include Kathleen in his story?
40. How does the description of the killing in "Ambush" compare with the previous one?
41. How does Kiowa justify the man's death? Does O'Brien attempt to justify it in any way, and
has he come to terms with it?
42. What are we to make of these two stories in light of what we read in "Good Form"? Why is
this latter chapter so far removed from the previous two, when it comments directly on them?
43. What do we now make of The Things They Carried in light of what we read in "Good Form"?
44. O'Brien writes, "And I can say, honestly, 'Of course not.' Or I can say, honestly, 'Yes'"
(204). Discuss this paradox.
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Chapter 14, “Style” p. 135-136
45. Read “Style” and trace all your responses. What is this story about?
Chapter 15, "Speaking of Courage" p. 137-154 & Chapter 16, "Notes" p. 155-161
46. What narrative point of view is used in "Speaking of Courage"?
47. What problems does Norman confront when he returns home? What seems to prevent him
from dealing with them successfully?
48. What is the "courage" of which the story speaks?
49. What do we learn in "Notes" about the previous story?
50. Why does O'Brien include Norman's letter in the story?
51. What does O'Brien say about storytelling in "Notes"?
52. How did Norman feel about O'Brien's story (according to O'Brien, of course)?
53. What are we to make of "Speaking of Courage," considering what O'Brien writes in the
conclusion to "Notes"? How about after reading "In the Field"?
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Chapter 17, "In The Field" p. 162-178
54. What point of view is used to narrate "In the Field"?
55. Discuss O'Brien's comment that, "When a man died, there had to be blame" (198).
56. What, in the end, is the significance of the shitfield story (or stories)?
Chapter 20, "The Ghost Soldiers" p. 189-218
57. What does "The Ghost Soldiers" add to the book that we have almost completed? Does it
provide any new insights, perspectives, or experiences about any of the characters? What do
you think its function in the overall narrative might be?
Chapter 22, "The Lives of the Dead" p. 225-246
58. How does the opening paragraph frame the story we are about to read?
59. Why is O'Brien unable to joke around with the other soldiers? Why does the old man remind
him of Linda?
60. What is the function of the Linda plot in "The Lives of the Dead"? Consider in particular
what it teaches him about death, memory, storytelling.
61. What is the "moral" of the dead KIAs (cf. Sanders' view)?
62. O'Brien says that in a story, "I can revive, at least briefly, that which is absolute and
unchanging." What might "that" be?
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