Chapter 4
What country was Tim playing to escape to?
What is Canada?
Name an example of body-related imagery that O'Brien uses.
“My skin felt too tight” (48)
“I’d slipped out of my own skin” (52)
“rage in my stomach” (40)
“the fear spreading inside me like weeds” (42)
What did O'Brien describe the American war in Vietnam as?
What is wrong (pg.38)?
What pages in the Chapter showcases courage? (Say any page to get the point)
What is Pg 52, Pg 55, Pg 57, Pg 38?
What social expectation causes O'Brien to consider going to war despite not wanting to?
What is the expectation that a man should be brave and serve his country?
What was Tim's reasoning for not wanting to be drafted?
Tim viewed himself as a smart student who was going to be a Harvard alumni. He hated everything about nature and solider life.
What does O'Brien's job as a Declotter represent?
His emotional state after being drafted.
Why was O'Brien hesistant to escape?
What is fear of exile?
What does Tim O'Brien compare courage to? What does Tim O'Brien compare war trauma to? What is Tim O'Brien reason for going back?
What is Inheritance, Declotter, and Shame?
What does O'Brien fear will happen if he refuses to go to Vietnam?
Where did Tim stay?
What is Tip Top Lodge?
What was the symbol for the river?
Rebirth, but a FORCED change
What does the river signify?
What does Tim O'Brien fear? How does this expand and showcase a universal message? Elaborate.
What is Tim O'Brien fears embarrassment and shame from being scared and avoiding war. It showcases societal pressures of masculinity and relation of men in war?
What emotion ultimately influences O'Brien's decision to go to war?
What is shame/embarrassment?
When did Tim get drafted? (Month or Year)
What is June 1968?
What side were the people at the river rooting him on towards?
Linda
The man he killed in My Khe
Family (present and future)
Famous and historical figures
What does Tim decide after the river? Bonus: Why does he decide it?
He decides to go to the war. He was embarrassed not to go to the war.
What is an allegory used in the text that showcases the theme of war leaving mental and physical scars that don't wash away?
What is Tim O'Brien story of being a Declotter?
How does the statement, "I was a coward. I went to the war," challenge the traditional idea of courage?
What is it suggests that going to war out of fear of judgement can be more cowardly than having the courage to follow your own beliefs?
What is the old man's name that Tim stayed with?
What is Elroy Berdahl?
What animal does O'Brien compare himself to?
What is a pig?
Why does the old man take him to the rainy river?
What is fishing?
Explain the themes discussed in the chapter? Provide evidence in the text to support your reasoning.
Presenters will listen and decide
Why does O'Brien view his decision to go to war as a failure, even though society will likely view it as an act of courage?
What is because he realizes he allowed social pressure, fear of judgement, and shame to overpower his own moral beliefs?