Name:____________________________________Date:____________Period_______
The Things They Carried
Guided Reading Questions
They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated
Bibles, each other. And, if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a
nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Since it was first published, The
Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of
American literature and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity, and
the limits, of the human heart and soul.
The Things They Carried (pages 1-26)
1. When the narrator was describing what the men carried, why do you think it was
important to them to know how much each thing weighed?
2. What happens to Ted Lavender? Who blames himself for what happened? Why do you
think he blames himself?
3. Explain what SOP stands for. Explain what KIA stands for.
4. Explain what the author means by “Imagination was a killer.”
5. In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which
item did you find most evocative (expressive) of the war? Which items stay with you?
6. Why would the soldiers never be at a “loss for things to carry” in Vietnam?
7. The night Ted Lavender was killed, Kiowa admired Jimmy Cross. What was it that
Jimmy Cross was doing that Kiowa could not do? Why did Kiowa feel a little guilty?
8. What type of figurative language is the following quote, “they would repair the leaks
in their eyes?” Explain the meaning of this quote.
9. To people who were not involved in the war, the men had a strange morbid way of
behaving around the dead or when someone they knew died. Explain how they behaved.
Use examples from the story.
10. Jimmy Cross went from loving Martha one day and treasuring her letters to hating her
and burning her letters the day after Ted Lavender died. What would explain this sudden
drastic change of feelings?
11. Not only does the death of Ted Lavender change Jimmy Cross’s feeling for Martha,
but also his feelings about his role as a leader. Explain how he is going to change. Use
examples from the novel.
12. The “things” of the title that O’Brien’s characters carry are both literal and figurative.
They are literally carrying many items, but these items are also symbolic to the soldiers
who are carrying them. What items do Henry Dobbins, Jimmy Cross, Ted Lavender,
Kiowa, and Norman Bowker carry that are symbolic and what does each item symbolize
to the soldier who carries it.
Love (pages 27 -30)
1. Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried," written in third person? How does
this serve to introduce the rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience of
the novel so far when O'Brien switched to first person, and you realized the narrator was
one of the soldiers?
2. What is the setting of this chapter?
3. What does Jimmy Cross confess to Tim O’Brien when he comes to visit him after the
war? What was O’Brien’s response?
4. During the war, Jimmy Cross survived by fantasizing. Explain what happened to
Jimmy Cross’s dream after the war.
5. O’Brien reveals that he has guilt that he cannot get over too, but he does not tell us
what happened that makes him feel this way. How does this make you feel about O’Brien
and his stories when he leaves you with unanswered questions?
Spin (pages 31-38)
1. Explain what happens to the setting in this chapter?
2. What does AWOL stand for?
3. Tim O’Brien shares several bad, peaceful, and happy stories in this chapter. Which war
story leaves an impression on you? Explain why.
4. We also learn that Tim O’Brien is a writer. Why does he feel that writing about the war
and all his memories is so important?
5. What happened to Curt Lemmon?
6. Different character’s personalities are revealed in this chapter. What do we learn about
Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Ted Lavender, Azar, and Tim O’Brien? Briefly
describe the memory that O’Brien has of each of the men and what character trait about
each man can you infer from the stories.
On The Rainy River (pages 39-61)
1. When Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war, how did he feel about the American war
in Vietnam? Why did he feel this way? Provide examples.
2. What was Tim’s initial reaction to his draft letter?
3. Explain how Tim O’Brien “cracked” one morning after receiving his draft notice.
What happened to him? What did he do as a result?
4. When Tim was driving along the Rainy River, he said that the river “separated one life
from another” for him. What does he mean by this?
5. Tim is given a very difficult choice to make. The choice between running away to
Canada or staying and fighting in a war he does not believe in. Why did he choose not to
run to Canada?
6. Why does Tim feel that Elroy Berdahl saved his life?
7. In "On The Rainy River," we learn the 21-year-old O'Brien's theory of courage:
"Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an
inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn
interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day
when the account must be drawn down. It was a comforting theory."
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In your own words, explain how Tim O’Brien views courage.
Were you surprised when O’Brien described his entry into the
Vietnam War as an act of cowardice?
Do you agree that a person could enter a war as an act of
cowardice?
8. Why does Tim feel guilty about going to Vietnam? Why would Tim feel ashamed if
he made the choice to flee to Canada?
Enemies (pages 62-64)
1. Explain why Jensen felt like he was “fighting two different wars.”
2. Why does Jensen eventually lose it? What is his final action that shows the other
soldiers in his platoon how crazy he really is?
3. In the end, Strunk was laughing and tells the others “ I stole his jackknife.” Why is
that action so funny to Strunk.
Friends (pages 65-66)
1. Over time, Dave and Lee became friends and began to trust one another again. During
their friendship in Vietnam, they made a pact. What was this pact?
2. When Lee became injured he became really scared and nervous. Why did he panic and
try to run away from his platoon?
3. Later the men heard that Lee had died because of his injuries. Why did Dave find relief
from this news?
4. What does the “enemies” and “friends” story tell you about social codes, friendship
and contracts on the battlefield?
How To Tell a True War Story (pages 67-85)
1. According to O'Brien, how do you tell a true war story? What does he mean when he
says that true war stories are never about war? What does he mean when he writes of one
story, "That's a true story that never happened"?
2. O’Brien says that, “In many cases a true war story cannot be believed…Often the
crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t.” Explain what Tim O’Brien means by this.
3. What happened to Rat’s friend, Curt Lemmon? How does Rat deal with the death of
his best friend?
4. O’Brien begins this chapter by saying that this is true. What does he reveal to the
reader at the end of the chapter? What point do you think he was trying to make by doing
that? How does this affect your attitude towards the narrator?
5. In your opinion, after reading this chapter can you ever really believe any storyteller
who claims his war stories are true? Explain why or why not.
The Dentist (pages 86-88)
1. According to Tim O’Brien, what kind of a person was Curt Lemmon? How did
O’Brien personally feel about Curt?
2. What happened with the dentist, that caused Curt Lemmon to be embarrassed? What
seems to be a common feeling among the soldiers that if felt always causes
embarrassment?
3. Curt Lemmon was depressed, angry with himself, quiet and withdrawn after the
incident with the dentist. Explain why Curt Lemmon having a perfectly good tooth
yanked out after his embarrassing moment made him smile again.
Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong (pages 89-116)
1. What is the Song Tra Bong?
2. The majority of the setting of this story takes place on an outpost set up as an aid
station mostly for wounded soldiers. Rat was a medic at this outpost and he felt this was
the ideal duty. He felt at peace and often forgot he was in the middle of Vietnam in one of
the world’s worst wars in history. Explain what type of activities would occur on a daily
basis that would cause Rat to be able to escape the war for a while.
3. One evening Eddie Diamond made a comment, which was supposed to be a joke,
however one of the men took him seriously. Who took him seriously and what happened
6 weeks later as a result?
4. When Mary Anne first arrived to the outpost, what was her initial feelings towards the
war and the land. How did Mary Anne feel about the jobs at the outpost that the men
performed?
5. Within the first two weeks, Mary Anne is changed both physically and mentally by her
experiences in Vietnam. Provide examples from Rat’s story that prove this.
6. At what point in this story can we assume Mark Fossie has lost his Mary Anne for
good?
6. Mary Anne’s final transformation occurs after she aligns herself with the Green Berets.
What information are we told about the Green Berets responsibilities in Vietnam? Why
do you think this is such a secret group? Describe the scene at the Greenie’s headquarters
that Mark Fossie, Eddie Diamond, and Rat walk into when they were looking for Mary
Anne.
7. As Mark Fossie stares at the girl he once loved and wanted to marry with human
tongues now hanging around her neck, he was shocked. Mary Anne’s response to Mark is
“it’s not bad.” Explain how you think she could possibly feel this way.
8. In "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," what transforms Mary Anne into a predatory
killer? Does it matter that Mary Anne is a woman? How so? What does the story tell us
about the nature of the Vietnam War?
9. Rat insists that the story he tells the men in Alpha Company about Mary Anne is true.
Think about O’Brien’s criteria for finding the truth in war stories. Do you believe it?
Does it fit O’Brien’s criteria for a true war story? Explain how it does fit or how it does
not fit?
10. What eventually became of Mary Anne?
Stockings (pages 117-118)
1. Superstitions are very prevalent in Vietnam. What is the significance of the stockings
for Dobbins?
2. Tim O’Brien says that the stockings turned the Alpha company into a “platoon of
believers.” Explain why.
Church (pages 119-123)
1. What does Dobbins suggest to Kiowa that he might be interested in doing after the
war?
2. Dobbins expresses to the Kiowa that he never enjoyed going to church. If he does not
like going to church, then what is it about the idea of a church and becoming a preacher
that truly interests Dobbins?
3. Can you find the irony in your answer to number 2 and if so, what is it?
The Man I Killed (pages 124-130)
1. In the beginning of this chapter, what inference can you make about who shot the man?
2. Throughout the chapter the narrator explains to the reader many details about the dead
man’s life. Do you think these details are true? Why or why not?
3. How does Azar react to the killing of the man? Azar compares the dead man to several
things, what does he compare the man to? What does this reveal about how Azar needs to
deal with seeing death?
4. Explain how Kiowa tries to make Tim O’Brien feel better about what he had just done.
Does it work?
5. Why does Tim O’Brien continue to repeat the same details about the body to the
reader? What does the continuous repetition of personal details about the dead man and
his body reveal to you about how Tim is feeling? Explain your answer.
Ambush (pages 131-134)
1. Why do you think Tim O’Brien would not tell his daughter the truth about having
killed a man in Vietnam?
2. What do Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker, and Jimmy Cross all have in common when it
comes to dealing with death in Vietnam?
Style (pages 135-136)
1. Write a brief summary about this chapter.
2. Why do you think this Vietnamese girl is dancing when her entire family was just
killed, probably right in front of her? Do you think she is dancing because she is happy?
What other stories can you compare her dancing to?
Speaking of Courage (pages 137-155)
1. What is the setting of this chapter?
2. Explain why Norman Bowker continuously drives the same seven mile loop around the
lake.
3. While driving, Norman Bowker thinks first about how he has no place to go. Also, he
thinks about his friends before the war who now live elsewhere, have jobs, go to school,
the girls have mostly married. Norman’s ex-girlfriend is now married and lives in a
“pleasant blue house.” What is the narrator trying to show the reader by including this
piece of information into the novel?
4. What was the only thing that Norman felt proud enough to brag to Sally Kramer about
after the war?
5. Before going to war, Norman wanted nothing more than to please his father. He felt his
father was only interested in Norman winning medals. Norman returned from the war
with 7 medals. Why did Norman only talk about what he would have said to his father?
He does not ever tell his father about the medals he won in Vietnam.
6. Again, the death of an Alpha company member brings about guilty feelings. Who has
guilt feelings over Kiowa’s passing and why?
7. Bowker makes it clear that he has a need to talk about what happened to him and the
atrocities that he saw in the war. However, he never did. Why didn’t Norman Bowker
talk about anything that happened in Vietnam?
Notes (pages 156-161)
1. What does Tim O’Brien reveal about Norman Bowker in the beginning of this chapter?
Does this surprise you? Explain why or why not.
2. Explain why Tim O’Brien wrote “Speaking of Courage,” the previous chapter.
3. What problem did Norman have after the war that made him feel as if suicide was the
only way out?
4. In the note to O’Brien, why does Norman Bowker feel like he died in Nam too?
5. How does what Norman experienced after the war differ from what Tim experienced?
6. What does Tim attribute his mental stability and smooth transition back into American
life to?
7. When Tim decided to include “Speaking of Courage,” what was the one thing he
wanted to make clear to the reader?
In The Field (pages 162-178)
1. Jimmy Cross feels incredible guilt again for the death of another member of Alpha
Company. Explain why.
2. What does Jimmy decide to do to help himself feel better about the death?
3. We are introduced to an unnamed soldier in this chapter who also has guilty feelings
about Kiowa’s death? Why does this soldier feel guilty? What happened with this soldier
and Kiowa the night he died? Why is the soldier really looking for Kiowa’s body?
4. We see a change in Azar in this chapter. What were his initial reactions to Kiowa’s
death in the muck? After wading through the mud for many hours, what changes happen
to Azar? What causes the changes? Explain.
5. When the men are trying to unearth Kiowa’s body, Henry Dobbins says, “it could be
worse.” What is O’Brien trying to suggest to you about the men who fought in this war?
6. In "In The Field," O'Brien writes, "When a man died, there had to be blame." What
does this mandate do to the men of O'Brien's company? Are they justified in thinking
themselves at fault? How do they cope with their own feelings of guilt?
Good Form (pages 179-180)
1. In "Good Form," O'Brien casts doubt on the accuracy of the entire novel. Why does he
do so? Does it make you more or less interested in the novel? Does it increase or decrease
your understanding?
2. What is the difference between "happening-truth" and "story-truth?"
3. Why is “story-truth” more real sometimes than “happening-truth?”
4. Explain why O’Brien feels that it should not matter to the reader whether or not the
stories are true. According to O’Brien, what is the most important thing that does matter?
Field Trip (pages 181-188)
1. Why did Tim O’Brien travel back to Vietnam? Why did he bring his daughter along
with him?
2. What does Kathleen say to her father that clearly shows the reader she has no clue
about the atrocities her father witnessed as a soldier in Vietnam?
3. When Tim was visiting the field where Kiowa died, why does he have difficulty
finding any emotion?
4. What does O’Brien leave at the spot where Kiowa died? What significance to Tim
does this gesture have?
5. Compare and contrast Tim’s experience to Kathleen’s experience at this time in
Vietnam.
6. Who was Kathleen talking about when she referred to a man being mad? Explain
Tim’s response to this question.
The Ghost Soldiers (pages 189-218)
1. When Tim is sent away in the helicopter, before he goes Rat hugs him. What does this
reveal about their relationship?
2. Where does Tim O’Brien place the blame for almost dying when he was shot the
second time? Is his blame justified? Why or why not?
3. Why didn’t O’Brien return to Alpha Company?
4. Tim was transferred to a fairly safe new post. Why then does he admit to envying
Alpha Company when they came in for stand-down?
5. Jorgenson apologized to Tim and put out his hand to shake. His apology seemed
sincere. Why then didn’t O’Brien shake Jorgenson’s hand and accept his apology?
6. Explain the three phases of Tim’s revenge. How did Jorgensen react?
7. Vietnam and the war have changed him. What examples from this story prove this
statement? Compare and contrast the innocent, new to the war Tim with the Tim you see
in this chapter.
8. Explain the significance of the title of this chapter “The Ghost Soldier.”
9. Does your opinion of O'Brien change throughout the course of the novel? How so?
How do you feel about his actions in "The Ghost Soldiers"?
Night Life (pages 219-224)
1. Before Rat was transferred to Japan, he began to lose his cool. What was happening at
this point in the war for Alpha Company? How was he reacting to the current events?
2. What is unusual about Rat’s reactions to seeing a liver that he describes as scary?
3. How did Rat get hurt? What do you think the reasons for this happening were? Explain
why Rat would do what he did? Why didn’t more soldiers do what Rat Kiley did to
escape the war?
Lives of the Dead (pages 225-246)
1. Explain what Tim O’Brien means when he says “stories can save us.”
2. On Tim’s 4th day in Vietnam, explain what he witnessed when his platoon found a
dead man’s body. Be sure to give examples. Would you say this was disrespectful? Why
or why not? Why did they act that way?
3. After Kiowa’s talk with O’Brien, what kind of man do you think Kiowa is?
4. Who was Linda? What happened to her? Tim O’Brien deals with his feelings about
Linda in a very similar way to how he deals with his feelings about death in Vietnam.
Compare the way he deals with each.
5. Why do you think he included the story about Linda in this novel? What point do you
think he was trying to make to the reader by including her story?