Review of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

In the first chapter O'Brien describes all the things the men had to carry. Why does he take so much time and go into detail with all of these items?

• He wants the reader to sympathize with him.

• He wants the reader to understand the weight of all of the objects.

• He wants the reader to understand the physical and emotional weight the men carried with them.

• He wants the reader to believe he is knowledgeable of the Vietnam War.

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Which of the following is NOT included in how to tell a "True" war story?

• It can not have a moral.

• It never seems to end

• It embarasses you.

• It is never about war.

• It has to have some kernel of happening-truth in it.

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How does O'Brien cope with his post traumatic stress from the war?

• Meeting with Jimmy Cross

• Talking about the war

• Writing stories about the war

• Visiting Vietnam with his daughter

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What is the best description of Mary Anne Belle's transformation?

• She felt like becoming one with the land was the only way to avoid Mark Fossie.

• She wanted to be a soldier, save lives, and serve her country as best she could.

• She felt like it was what Mark wanted her to do.

• She became one with the land and felt like she was meant to be a Greenie.

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Tim O'Brien describes Elroy Berdahl as the person who saved his life. Why?

• He took him to the edge of the Canadian border and offered him a chance to evade the draft.

• He gave him $200 as an emergency fund to take to Canada.

• He gave him the space and time he needed to think about the war, the draft, and his true feelings all without ever saying a word about dodging the draft or the war.

• He told him to do what he believed in, stand up for himself and to follow his heart.

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Tim O'Brien says, "I was a coward. I went to war." What does he mean by this?

• He didn't stand up for what he truly believed in.

• He was scared to death to go to the war.

• He felt that soldiers who fought in the war were cowards.

• He felt that he would be a coward when the time came to fight for his country.

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What is the point of O'Brien's trip to Vietnam 20 years after the war?

• To show his daughter what he went through.

• To make peace with Vietnam and cleanse himself of the war.

• To honor Kiowa.

• All of the previous answers!

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What is most important to Tim O'Brien

• war stories

• story truth

• historical fiction

• all of the previous answers!

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What does O'Brien say to his daughter when she asks if he ever killed anyone?

• Of course

• Of course not

• He isn't sure

• Yes he killed Curt Lemon

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What would O'Brien most likely say to readers who want to know which of the events or people in the book are actually real?

• That he, Kiowa, and Norman Bowker are real, although some of the events and other people were changed.

• The book is a work of fiction; none of it is true.

• There is no such thing as objective truth; we all experience our own versions of truth, none being more real than others.

• You have missed the point of the book. The point is not to learn about the absolute occurrences, but to understand the way the soldiers felt.

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