The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Section 2
“The Man I Killed” and “Ambush”
These two chapters are addressing the O’Brien (soldier and possibly narrator)
experience of taking another person’s life.
You will complete the comparison/contrast chart below as well as answer
questions concerning the two chapters. Please consider the following as you
complete the assignment:
 the two different perspectives from which the story is told
 the repetition of description concerning the Vietnamese soldier
 the setting of the story
 the details surrounding the actual killing
 the characters involved in each chapter
“Ambush”
Similarities
“The Man I Killed”
Answer the following questions very specifically.
1. Which perspective gives more clarity to the incident, O’Brien the soldier or
O’Brien the narrator? Why?
2. What is the purpose of the repetition in describing every aspect of the
Vietnamese soldier, not only physically but what the soldier feels, believes,
wants, desires, and fears?
3. In “The Man I Killed”, what do Kiowa and Azar contribute to this telling of
the story? In “Ambush” what does Kathleen contribute to the telling of
the story?
4. In “The Man I Killed”, what does O’Brien the soldier contribute to the
reader’s understanding of what it means to take another person’s life?
Answer the same question for O’Brien the author in “Ambush”. Consider
where O’Brien is in his life during each telling of the story.