English III AP
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Reading Discussion Questions
Your task is to read The Things They Carried over spring break. Having read and discussed The Things They Carried
and "Love," you already possess an introductory understanding of the text, its themes, and O'Brien's writing style.
Use the following questions to guide your reading. For those stories that we read, annotate your text and bring your
insights, understandings, and questions to class in order to create a rich discussion.
Enjoy and happy reading :)
“Spin”
o
Note the references to the word “spin” and its associated images. Mark them in your text. Then,
explain the title of the chapter.
o
According to O’Brien, what is the significance of storytelling? How does it benefit the storyteller
and the subject?
“On the Rainy River”
o
What is the effect of O’Brien opening the chapter with the admission that “This is one story I’ve
never told before. Not to anyone”? What aspect of O'Brien's experiences on the Rainy River
embarrasses him and prevented him from telling the story for so long?
o
Why did O'Brien finally decided to tell the "full truth" and write about his story on the Rainy River?
o
What is Elroy Berdahl’s role in the story? How would the story be different if O’Brien experienced
this alone, without meeting another person?
o
How does this chapter reflect both Transcendental and Anti-Transcendental qualities?
o
Tim O'Brien spends much of the chapter discussing his motivations for finally going home and
choosing to go to war. Based on your understanding, why did O'Brien make this decision? What do
you think he learned about himself as a result of this experience and his ultimate decision?
“Enemies," “Friends” and “The Dentist”
o
O’Brien describes Dave Jensen’s feelings after the fight with Lee Strunk as “Jensen couldn’t relax.
Like fighting two wars, he said. No safe ground: enemies everywhere … The distinction between
good guys and bad guys disappeared for him.” Explain this sentiment.
o
Explain the final line of the chapter: “Later we heard that Lee Strunk died somewhere over Chu Lai,
which seemed to relieve Dave Jensen of an enormous weight.” What weight was lifted? Why?
How does this relate to the experiences of other soldiers during the war?
o
How are Curt Lemon’s actions similar to Dave Jensen breaking his nose?
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English III AP
“How to Tell a True War Story” – (additional handout)
“Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”
o
Consider the criterion of ‘a true war story’. Although this event probably did not happen, why is it
considered a true war story?
o
Observe O’Brien’s keen use of characterization. Note how he uses physical details to depict Mary
Anne’s change. Annotate your text.
o
Why does O’Brien choose an individual such as Mary Anne to reveal the impact of Vietnam? What
is ironic about Mary Anne telling Mark, when he finally finds her with the Greenies, that “You’re in
a place where you don’t belong”?
“Stockings," “Church” and "Style"
o
Based on your reading, what impressions do you get of Henry Dobbins? Specifically consider his
view toward religion and how it compares to Kiowa’s attitudes. Why was superstition so important
to the soldiers in Vietnam?
o
What aspect of war and Vietnam is O’Brien trying to show us in these chapters, especially in
contrast to the other chapters that we have read such as “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”?
“The Man I Killed”
o
O’Brien describes fairly intimate details about the dead man’s life. What does O’Brien really know
about the boy that he killed? Then, why do you think that he makes up details about the boy’s life?
o
O'Brien portrays himself as profoundly moved by this death: "Later Kiowa said, 'I'm serious.
Nothing anybody could do. Come on, Tim, stop staring." How would you describe O'Brien's
emotional state in this scene? Why does he feel this way?
“Ambush”
o
Underline all of the references to “fog” in this chapter. What is the effect of this imagery, namely in
depicting these events?
o
O'Brien's daughter asks if he ever killed a man: "You keep writing these war stories,' she said, 'so I
guess you must've killed somebody.'" Following this, O'Brien relates two possible scenarios of the
death described in "The Man I Killed" to explain, "This is why I keep writing war stories." In your
opinion, why does O'Brien continue to write war stories?
o
In this chapter, O’Brien tells part of “The Man I Killed” story to his daughter, Kathleen. Why do
you think that O’Brien says, “Someday, I hope, she’ll ask again. But here I want to pretend she’s a
grown-up”?
o
In this essay, O’Brien is working his way back in time. Think about how he starts the essay talking
to his daughter and then goes back to the killing of the boy. Why do you think he structures the story
this way?
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English III AP
“Speaking of Courage”
“A tour bus feeling, in a way, except the town he was touring seemed dead. Through the windows, as if in a
slow-motion photograph, the place looked as if it had been hit by nerve gas, everything still and lifeless, even
the people. The town could not talk, and would not listen. ‘How’d you to like to hear about the war?’ he
might have asked, but the place could only blink and shrug. It had no memory, therefore no guilt.”
o
Why do you think that O’Brien depicts the town this way? What is he trying to show about the town
and the people in Norman Bowker’s hometown? What does this suggest about Bowker and his
interactions (or lack thereof) with others?
“Courage was not always a matter of yes or no. Sometimes it came in degrees, like the cold; sometimes you
were very brave up to a point and then beyond that point you were not so brave. In certain situations you
could do incredible things, you could advance toward enemy fire, but in other situations, which were not
nearly so bad, you had trouble keeping your eyes open. Sometimes, like that night in the shit field, the
difference between courage and cowardice was something small and stupid.”
o
What is O’Brien suggesting about courage? How does it relate to cowardice? How does this idea
connect to other discussions about shame and courage in the book? Do you think that Norman
Bowker feels courageous?
“On his twelfth revolution, the sky went crazy with color. He pulled into Sunset Park and stopped in the
shadow of a picnic shelter. After a time he got out, walked down to the beach, and waded into the lake
without undressing. The water felt warm against his skin. He put his head under. He opened his lips, very
slightly, for the taste, then he stood up and folded his arms and watched the fireworks. For a small town, he
decided, it was a pretty good show.”
o
Why do you think that Norman Bowker finally goes into the lake for a swim? At this point, why
does Bowker think that, “For a small town, he decided, it was a pretty good show”?
o
We learn that Norman Bowker drives around the lake twelve times, imagining conversations in his
head. What is the symbolic meaning of the circle imagery? Also, why are all of his conversations
imaginary?
o
How does this story parallel O'Brien's experiences in "On the Rainy River"?
“Notes”
o
O’Brien wrote the final version of the story of Kiowa’s death in “Speaking of Courage”, but then he
tells of the first version he wrote in “Notes”. How did the two stories differ? Why do you think that
O’Brien changed the story? Be specific in your response.
o
O'Brien writes, "You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night in the shit
field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless
help to clarify and explain it." What does this idea reveal about O'Brien's thoughts about the writing
process and the purpose of writing?
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English III AP
“In The Field”
o
What do each of the men lose “in the field”? Be sure to consider Norman Bowker, Tim O’Brien,
Jimmy Cross, and the kid. (Think about how the men blame themselves and who considers himself
the most responsible.)
o
This story reiterates many themes explored in the entire book. Brainstorm and explain (as needed) a
list of these themes.
“Good Form”
o
When O’Brien’s daughter asks him if he ever killed a man, he initially responded that he had not
(147). This time he says, “… I can say, honestly, ‘Of course not.’ Or I can say, honestly, ‘Yes.’”
How can both of these statements be true?
“Field Trip”
o
O’Brien says that “twenty years. A lot like yesterday, a lot like never. In a way, maybe, I’d gone
under with Kiowa, and now, after two decades, I’d finally worked my way out” (212). How does
going back and putting Kiowa’s moccasins in the river help Tim “work his way out”? Do you think
that this field trip is successful?
o
Connect O'Brien's story to Norman Bowker's experiences described in "Speaking of Courage."
o
How do you think all of the Vietnamese people feel when they see all of the Americans return to
Vietnam?
“The Ghost Soldiers”
o
Consider the possible meanings of the title. How are the soldiers and their experiences “ghost-like”?
o
How does this story connect to others in the book? Consider and explain why this chapter is one of
the last in the book.
“Night Life”
o
In detail, describe how Rat Kiley changes. Why do you think these changes occur?
“The Lives of the Dead”
o
How do the stories and storytelling save the lives of the dead?
o
How do the stories and storytelling save the lives of the living?
o
Explain the last line of the book, “…I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story.”
Relate it to the ideas expressed in this chapter and all of the stories of the book combined.
o
What do you think that O’Brien means when he says “But this too is true: stories can save us … But
in a story, which is kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smiles and sit up and return to the world”?
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