"The Things They Carried"
What does Jimmy Cross keep with him as a good luck charm?
A pebble
(will also accept Martha's letters)
How were people who didn’t want to go to the war viewed in public opinion, according to the author?
That they were treasonous kids who were too scared to fight.
In the story Tim suggests that this wasn’t really a war story at all instead it was a _____ story.
Who is the narrator and protagonist of the stories?
Tim O'Brien
What constantly distracts Lieutenant Jimmy Corss?
His love for Martha
In the reading, how were the men able to avoid stepping on landmines?
By enlisting an old poppa-san to guide them through the minefield safely.
When Tim is drafted into the Vietnam War, what does he openly admit about his understanding?
That he is somewhat confused about the purpose of the war.
What type of figurative language is in the following passage:
“In a true war story, if there’s a moral at all, it’s like the thread that makes the cloth.”
Simile
Who is the leader of the platoon?
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross
The “things they carry” as described in the novel, literally and figuratively, relates to the men’s:
Needs and emotions
Why does the author includes the detail about the daughter in the following quote:
"My daughter Kathleen tells me it's an obsession, that I should write about a little girl who finds a million dollars and spends it all on a Shetland pony. In a way, I guess, she's right: I should forget it."
It introduces the idea that Tim censors his stories to shield his daughter from the realities of war.
Why does O'Brien eventually cry in the boat?
He is too embarrassed to follow his conscience.
As used in the passage "War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead," the word drudgery most likely means:
Boring
Who is the platoon medic?
Rat Kiley
Lt. Cross states at one point that he loves Martha more than his men, and, as a consequence, Ted Lavender was dead. He carried this death like a stone. This indicates Lt. Cross felt:
Guilt
What does the following quote imply?
"As a writer, all you can do is pick a street and go for the ride, putting things down as they come at you."
Tim does not feel he has control over the stories that come to him.
What does the rainy river symbolize?
Separation of one life from another
Freedom from the draft
The choice between embarrassment and courage
Why does O’Brien claim that “you’re never more alive than when you’re almost dead”?
To show that near-death experiences in war also create a sense of being alive in the soldiers.
How does Martha feel about Jimmy?
She cares about him, but she does not love him the way Jimmy loves her.
Lt. Jimmy Cross symbolically shows his renewed commitment to his fellow soldiers at the end of the story by:
Burning the letters he carries
What does the word reticence in the following passage:
“To an extent, I suppose, his reticence was typical of that part of Minnesota, where privacy still held value, and even if I’d been walking around with some horrible deformity-four arms and three heads-I’m sure the old man would’ve talked about everything except those extra arms and head” (51).
Restraint
What is the purppose of the excerpt:
“War is hell, but that's not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead”
To highlight how war can be contradictory
How does Curt Lemon die?
He is killed when he steps on a rigged mortar round.