WorksheetsThe Things They Carried
Total questions: 52
Worksheet time: 5hrs 21mins
Toward the end of the chapter, the narrator refers to "that big silver freedom bird" (O'Brien 22). To what does this phrase allude?
American bald eagle
Airplane
Spaceship
Type of popular car at the time
What topic was conspicuously absent in Martha's letters?
college
the war
feelings of affection
her daily routine
"Lieutenant Jimmy Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to ______ ."
love
laugh
lie
lead
"Boom down" described the sound of _____ ?
fighting
death
marching
singing
According to O’Brien, which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a true war story?
True war stories embarrass you by their obscenity.
True war stories are not uplifting.
True war stories have an obvious moral.
True war stories never seem to end.
Before going to war, O’Brien worked as a...
paper-presser in a mill.
carhop at a drive-in restaurant.
journalist for a local newspaper.
declotter at a meatpacking factory.
Mitchell Sanders tells a story about...
A soldier who shot himself in the foot to get out of his unit
A lieutenant who blames himself for the death of his soldier, and eventually goes mad
A unit that is driven mad by the sounds of the jungle; in a paranoid frenzy they fire on an imaginary enemy
a girl who writes to her soldier every day; she is devastated when her "Dear John" dies in combat
Why does young Tim O’Brien decide to go to war rather than flee to Canada?
He wants to meet the girls there
He knows it is his duty and is embarrassed to let his family down
Elroy Berdahl threatens to turn him in to the authorities
His parents threaten to turn him into the authorities
Why do the men talk to the dead bodies and play games with them?
They talk to the bodies in order to lighten up the situation and make death seem less real
They enjoyed the blood and gore of war
They are ordered to do so by Lt. Cross
They are young and don't know any better.
Rat Kiley overcomes the grief of Curt Lemon’s death by
killing a water buffalo
drinking all night long
finding a girl in the village
abandoning his company and going AWOL
Why does young Tim O’Brien cry in the boat with Elroy Berdahl?
He does not want to go to Vietnam
He misses his parents
He is crying for his freedom because he has decided to go to Vietnam
He is embarrassed
Check all items that count as "emotional weight" (emotional) items that the soldiers carried:
shame
guilt
candy
loneliness
Check all items that count as "comfort" (tangible/physical) items that the soldiers carried:
toothbrush
guilt
foot powder
comic books
shame
What pact did two soldiers make in "Friends"?
That there were no hard feelings
That they would share rations
That if one got badly injured, the other would kill him
Tim claimed that he was a coward because he -
went to war
hid during a battle
didn't get enough medals
hated to see dead Vietnamese
Why had the men been fired upon in the area where Kiowa died?
Jimmy Cross exercised poor judgment
a soldier used a flashlight to show someone a picture of his girlfriend
central command was unaware of the nature of the site
all of these
What does the author say about truth?
Story-truth is more real than happening-truth
Truth is absolute
Everyone has their own truth
Truth is unattainable
He got into his car and rolled down the window. "Make me out to be a good guy, okay? Brave and handsome, all that stuff. Best platoon leader ever." He hesitated for a second. "And do me a favor. Don't mention anything about—" "No," I said, "I won't."
What item does Lt. Jimmy Cross carry that symbolizes his connection to Martha?
A Bible
A Pebble
A photo album
A letter
The death of which character is most often connected with themes of guilt and responsibility?
Kiowa
Ted Lavender
Curt Lemon
Rat Kiley
What is significant about Norman Bowker’s story in "Speaking of Courage"?
It shows his bravery during combat.
It emphasizes his struggle to adjust to life after the war.
It reveals his secret love for Martha.
It focuses on his friendship with Ted Lavender.
Which of the following best describes O'Brien's narrative voice throughout the novel?
Detached and cynical
Emotionally invested and reflective
Humorous and lighthearted
Authoritative and commanding
What does Tim O’Brien suggest about the nature of courage in "On the Rainy River"?
It is about heroic actions in battle.
It is irrelevant to the story.
It is an inherent quality one is born with.
It involves making difficult moral choices, even in private.
What is the effect of the nonlinear narrative structure of the novel?
It confuses the reader and makes the story hard to follow.
It creates suspense and builds up to a climax.
It mimics the fragmented and disjointed experiences of soldiers in war.
It simplifies the storyline and adds clarity.
What does the death of Curt Lemon in "How to Tell a True War Story" illustrate about the nature of war?
War is predictable and orderly.
War is random and often absurd.
War is a necessary evil.
War is honorable and just.
which statement expresses the theme of the poem?
Soldiers can struggle to distance themselves from memories of war.
Soldiers can comfort each other by discussing their memories of war.
Soldiers are often frustrated that outsiders cannot understand their wartime experiences.
Soldiers distance themselves from memories of war by focusing on the present and future.
Which statement best describes the significance of the speaker's reflection in the wall of the memorial?
It represents the speaker's anger toward other veterans.?
It represents the speaker's disconnect from the visitors at the memorial.
It reminds the speaker of how he felt rejected after the war.
It reminds the speaker of his wartime experiences.
In lines 15-16, the speaker says he is "half-expecting to find/ (his) own in letters like smoke." What is the most likely interpretation of these lines?
The speaker fears his own eventual death.
The speaker feels that a part of him died during the war.
The speaker is confused about why his name does not appear on the wall.
The speaker worries that people will forget about those who died in the war.
What is the most likely interpretation of the following lines?
"then his pale eye/ look through mine. I'm a window" (lines 26-27)
The speaker feels invisible when people liik at him.
The speaker feels that painful memories of the past should be forgotten.
The speaker feels that he has been open anf honest about his wartime experiences.
The speaker feels that people can see his wartime experiences just looking in his eyes.
What does tedious mean?
What does Norman Bowker, “a very gentle person”, carry?
A bag of teeth
A human scalp
A human thumb
A human eyeball
How did Tim O’Brien come to join the military?
He joined ROTC in college and enlisted after college
He enlisted after college
He was drafted during college and deferred until he graduated
He was drafted a month after graduating
What happened to the woman Jimmy Cross loved?
She got married and had four children
She got married but her husband was killed in an accident
She never married and became a nurse
She lost her mind and was put into a mental facility
What game did Norman Bowker & Henry Dobbins play before dark?
Poker
Checkers
Chess
Ping-Pong
