wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

The Things They Carried - Final Review

Total questions: 104

Worksheet time: 2hrs 47mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Who is the narrator of The Things They Carried?
a)
Tim O'Brien
b)
Jimmy Cross
c)
Ted Lavender
d)
Henry Dobbins
2.
What constantly distracts Lt. Jimmy Cross from his job?
a)
safety of his soldiers
b)
thoughts about his family
c)
fear of death
d)
thoughts of Martha
3.
Which character is the platoon?s RTO?
a)
Kiowa
b)
Mitchell
c)
Henry
d)
Ted
4.
Why does Rat Kiley, the medic, carry M&Ms candy?
a)
To help with morale
b)
They are his favorite
c)
To use as a placebo medicine for fatally wounded soldiers
d)
He doesn't
5.

Who is the would-be girlfriend of Jimmy Cross?

a)

Marlene

b)

Martha

c)

Margaret

d)

None of the above

6.

What is the favorite food of Henry Dobbins?

a)

Canned peaches

b)

Pound cake

c)

Canned peaches over pound cake

d)

Chocolate bar

7.

Whose death is foreshadowed in this chapter?

a)

Ted Lavender

b)

Tim O'Brien

c)

Jimmy Cross

d)

Norman Bowker

8.

What does Jimmy carry for good luck?

a)

Rabbit's foot

b)

Four-leaf clover

c)

Baseball hat

d)

None of the above

9.

Which character carries a copy of the New Testament?

a)

Tim O'Brien

b)

Jimmy Cross

c)

Rat Kiley

d)

Kiowa

10.

What is Dobbins constantly seeking?

a)

Gold

b)

Moral

c)

Morale

d)

All of the above

11.

Toward the end of the chapter, the narrator refers to "that big silver freedom bird" (O'Brien 22). To what does this phrase allude?

a)

American bald eagle

b)

Airplane

c)

Spaceship

d)

Type of popular car at the time

12.

What does Jimmy Cross do the morning after he loses one of his soldiers?

a)

Cries

b)

Buries his body

c)

Burns letters from his would-be girlfriend

d)

Burns photographs of his would-be girlfriend

13.

What topic was conspicuously absent in Martha's letters?

a)

college

b)

the war

c)

feelings of affection

d)

her daily routine

14.
"Hump it" means what?
a)
To carry something
b)
Dig a foxhole
c)
Shoot at the enemy
d)
Stay in formation
15.

The war stories in The Things They Carried take place during...

a)

World War II

b)

the Gulf War

c)

the Korean War

d)

the Vietnam War.

16.

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing..." were examples of

a)

tangible weights.

b)

intangible weights.

17.

The soldier's greatest fear, was the fear of _______ ."

a)

sweating

b)

crying

c)

blushing

d)

singing

18.

"Lieutenant Jimmy Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to ______ ."

a)

love

b)

laugh

c)

lie

d)

lead

19.

"The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition." What example supports this idea from the text?

a)

Dave Jensen carried a rabbit's foot.

b)

They carried Black Flag insecticide.

c)

Lee Strunk made a funny ghost sound.

d)

They carried stationery and pencils and pens.

20.

"Boom down" described the sound of _____ ?

a)

fighting

b)

death

c)

marching

d)

singing

21.

The author of The Things They Carried is...

a)

Tim O'Brien

b)

Tim O'Brian

c)

Tom O'Brien

d)

Tom O'Brian

22.

The story that best presents the idea of shame is...

a)

The Things They Carried

b)

On The Rainy River

c)

How to Tell a True War Story

d)

The Man I Killed

23.

"O'Brien writes that war stories have no moral and they are often not true" is a summary of which story?

a)

The Things They Carried

b)

On The Rainy River

c)

How to Tell a True War Story

d)

The Man I Killed

24.

The best description of the book is

a)

A collection of semi-autobiographical stories dealing with experiences of the Vietnam War

b)

A collection of factual stories dealing with experiences of the Vietnam War

c)

A collection of fictional stories dealing with experiences of the Vietnam War

25.

Who does O'Brien consider to be his "life hero"?

a)

Ted Lavender

b)

Jimmy Cross

c)

Kiowa

d)

Elroy Berdahl

26.

What is NOT a significant theme from the book?

a)

Morality and Death

b)

Patriotism

c)

Social Obligation

d)

Storytelling and Memory

27.

What event is NOT a turning point for Tim O'Brien in his stories?

a)

Receiving his draft notice

b)

Ending a man's life

c)

Meeting Elroy Berdahl

d)

Ted Lavender's death

28.

What is the most significant theme in the story, "The Man I Killed"?

a)

Memory and Storytelling

b)

Morality

c)

Shame

d)

Social Obligation

29.

What is meant by the term, 'alienation'

a)

the state or experience of being foreign

b)

the state or experience of being cut-off or isolated

c)

the state or experience of being out of it

30.

What does PTSD stand for?

a)

Post Traumatic Stress Disease

b)

Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder

c)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

31.

What constantly distracts Lt. Jimmy Cross from his job?

a)

Soldier's Safety

b)

Fear of Death

c)

Thoughts about his family

d)

Thoughts about Martha

32.

Why does Rat Kiley, the medic, carry M&M candy?

a)

Help with Morales

b)

They are his favorite

c)

Comfort dying soldiers

d)

He doesn't

33.

What does Lt. Jimmy Cross carry for good luck?

a)

Rabbit's foot

b)

Four-leaf clover

c)

baseball hat

d)

pebble

34.

What topic was not mentioned in Martha’s letters?

a)

College

b)

The war

c)

Poetry

d)

Her routine

35.

What does “Hump it” mean?

a)

carry something

b)

shoot at the enemy

c)

dig a fox hole

d)

stay in formation

36.

"The soldier's greatest fear, was the fear of (a)   ?

37.

“Lt. Jimmy Cross reminded himself that his obligation wasn’t to be loved but to (a)   ?”

38.

“Boom Down” describes the sound of _____?

a)

Fighting

b)

Marching

c)

Death

d)

Singing

39.

What was Kiowa’s weapon of last resort?

a)

M-60

b)

Grenade

c)

Rocket Launcher

d)

Slingshot

40.

Who died?

a)

Ted Lavender

b)

Lt. Jimmy Cross

c)

Rat Kiley

d)

Henry Dobbins

41.

The story about "On the Rainy River" makes the author squirm because it is embarrassing.

a)

True

b)

False

42.

TIm O'Brien graduated from college in 1968.

a)

True

b)

False

43.

Tim's first job after college is on a pig farm.

a)

True

b)

False

44.

Tim O'Brien didn't believe he should have to fight in the war because he was college educated.

a)

True

b)

False

45.

Tim O'Brien had a full-ride scholarship to Harvard for his graduate studies.

a)

True

b)

False

46.

Tim O'Brien considered running away to Mexico to escape the draft.

a)

True

b)

False

47.

The main character traveled from his home town in Minnesota along the Rainy River to an urban hotel.

a)

True

b)

False

48.

Tim found an old fishing resort owned by a young man named Elroy Berdahl.

a)

True

b)

False

49.

Tim stayed at the lodge for 6 days.

a)

True

b)

False

50.

Tim could have escaped to Canada with the help of Elroy, but he sat in the boat and cried instead.

a)

True

b)

False

51.

Tim O'Brien chose to go to war instead of run from the draft because he was a true patriot and believed in fighting for his country.

a)

True

b)

False

52.

Tim O'Brien believes that he was a coward because he went to war.

a)

True

b)

False

53.
What is Jimmy Cross's rank?
a)
Private
b)
Colonel
c)
Lieutenant
d)
Medic
54.
What sport did Martha play at Mount Sebastian College?
a)
Tennis
b)
Soccer
c)
Field hockey
d)
Volleyball
55.
How do Jimmy Cross and Martha reunite?
a)
At a college reunion
b)
They actually don't reunite; they never speak to one another again.
c)
They marry after the war.
d)
They serve as missionaries in several third-world countries.
56.
What is the outcome of the fight between Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk over Jensen's missing jackknife?
a)
Strunk blows Jensen's leg off
b)
Strunk reluctantly gives back Jensen's knife
c)
Jensen breaks Strunk's nose
d)
Jimmy Cross breaks up the fight
57.
What happens when Curt Lemon is called in to see the dentist?
a)
Lemon faints.
b)
The dentist has to pull a tooth.
c)
Lemon refuses to enter the dentist's office.
d)
Lemon knocks out one of the dentist's teeth.
58.
Who flies his girlfriend to Vietnam?
a)
Tim O'Brien
b)
Mark Fossie
c)
Mitchell Sanders
d)
Henry Dobbins
59.
What medal does Norman Bowker almost win?
a)
The Air Medal
b)
The Silver Star
c)
The Bronze Star
d)
The Purple Heart
60.
Who runs the Tip Top Lodge?
a)
Jimmy Cross
b)
Elroy Berdahl
c)
Norman Bowker 
d)
Tim O'Brien
61.
When O'Brien returns to Vietnam more than twenty years after the war, whom does he bring with him?
a)
His wife
b)
Mary Anne Bell
c)
Kathleen
d)
Norman Bowker
62.
Why did O'Brien's relationship with Linda end?
a)
She left him for another man.
b)
He had to leave for Vietnam.
c)
She ran off to New York City, never to be seen from again.
d)
She died of a brain tumor.
63.

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?

a)

He wants the reader to sympathize with him.

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

64.

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

a)

It can not have a moral.

b)

It never seems to end

c)

It embarasses you.

d)

It is never about war.

e)

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

65.

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

a)

Meeting with Jimmy Cross

b)

Talking about the war

c)

Writing stories about the war

d)

Visiting Vietnam with his daughter

66.

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

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

67.

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

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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.

d)

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

68.

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

a)

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

b)

He was scared to death to go to the war.

c)

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

d)

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

69.

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

a)

To show his daughter what he went through.

b)

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

c)

To honor Kiowa.

d)

All of the previous answers!

70.

What is most important to Tim O'Brien

a)

war stories

b)

story truth

c)

historical fiction

d)

all of the previous answers!

71.

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

a)

Of course

b)

Of course not

c)

He isn't sure

d)

Yes he killed Curt Lemon

72.

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?

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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.

73.
Who is the narrator of The Things They Carried?
a)
Tim O'Brien
b)
Jimmy Cross
c)
Ted Lavender
d)
Henry Dobbins
74.

What constantly distracts Lt. Jimmy Cross from his job in Chapter 1?

a)

safety of his soldiers

b)

thoughts about his family

c)

fear of death

d)

thoughts of Martha

75.
Why does Rat Kiley, the medic, carry M&Ms candy?
a)
To help with morale
b)
They are his favorite
c)
To use as a placebo medicine for fatally wounded soldiers
d)
He doesn't
76.

What is the favorite food of Henry Dobbins?

a)

Canned peaches

b)

Pound cake

c)

Canned peaches over pound cake

d)

Chocolate bar

77.

What does Jimmy carry for good luck?

a)

Rabbit's foot

b)

Four-leaf clover

c)

Baseball hat

d)

None of the above

78.

Which character carries a copy of the New Testament?

a)

Tim O'Brien

b)

Jimmy Cross

c)

Rat Kiley

d)

Kiowa

79.

What does Jimmy Cross do the morning after he loses one of his soldiers?

a)

Cries

b)

Buries his body

c)

Burns letters from his would-be girlfriend

d)

Burns photographs of his would-be girlfriend

80.

"Hump" means what?

a)

To carry something

b)

Dig a foxhole

c)

Shoot at the enemy

d)

Stay in formation

81.

The war stories in The Things They Carried take place during...

a)

World War II

b)

the Gulf War

c)

the Korean War

d)

the Vietnam War.

82.

"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing..." were examples of

a)

tangible weights.

b)

intangible weights.

83.

"The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition." What example supports this idea from the text?

a)

Dave Jensen carried a rabbit's foot.

b)

They carried Black Flag insecticide.

c)

Lee Strunk made a funny ghost sound.

d)

They carried stationery and pencils and pens.

84.

What was Kiowa's weapon of last resort?

a)

M-60

b)

feathered hatchet

c)

smoke grenade

d)

slingshot

85.

What do the soldiers call carrying something?

a)

To haul it

b)

To bump it

c)

To drag it

d)

To hump it

86.

What does Norman Bowker, “a very gentle person”, carry?

a)

A bag of teeth

b)

A human scalp

c)

A human thumb

d)

A human eyeball

87.

What did Mitchell Sanders mail to the USO?

a)

An envelope of his body lice

b)

An envelope of his toenail clippings

c)

An envelope with a dirty pair of socks

d)

An envelope full of his tears

88.

What did Elroy offer to O’Brien?

a)

A free boat ride to Canada

b)

A car

c)

An envelope with four fifty dollar bills that said “EMERGENCY FUND”

d)

A train ticket

89.

Did O’Brien end up going to Canada?

a)

Yes, but he didn’t have a passport and was returned back

b)

Yes, but he changed his mind and came back home

c)

No, he couldn’t figure out how to sneak over the border

d)

No, he couldn’t bring himself to do it

90.

The story about "On the Rainy River" makes the author squirm because it is embarrassing.

a)

True

b)

False

91.

Tim O'Brien had a full-ride scholarship to Harvard for his graduate studies.

a)

True

b)

False

92.

Tim O'Brien chose to go to war instead of run from the draft because he was a true patriot and believed in fighting for his country.

a)

True

b)

False

93.

Tim O'Brien believes that he was a coward because he went to war.

a)

True

b)

False

94.
What happens when Curt Lemon is called in to see the dentist?
a)
Lemon faints.
b)
The dentist has to pull a tooth.
c)
Lemon refuses to enter the dentist's office.
d)
Lemon knocks out one of the dentist's teeth.
95.
When O'Brien returns to Vietnam more than twenty years after the war, whom does he bring with him?
a)
His wife
b)
Mary Anne Bell
c)
Kathleen
d)
Norman Bowker
96.

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

a)

Meeting with Jimmy Cross

b)

Talking about the war

c)

Writing stories about the war

d)

Visiting Vietnam with his daughter

97.

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

a)

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

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

98.

Check all items that count as "emotional weight"(intangible) items that the soldiers carried:

a)

shame

b)

guilt

c)

candy

d)

loneliness

99.

Check all items that count as "comfort" (tangible/physical) items that the soldiers carried:

a)

toothbrush

b)

fear

c)

foot powder

d)

comic books

e)

grief

100.

How does Jimmy Cross change after Lavender's death?

a)

He decides to run away.

b)

He gives up trying to be a leader.

c)

He tries to take his position as lieutenant more seriously.

d)

He begins to blame his men for all problems.

101.

According to Tim O'Brien, what is important about telling stories?

a)

Stories make things present, help the teller feel again.

b)

Stories help the teller forget his/her past experiences.

c)

Stories are good for writing book in order to make a good living.

d)

The story shows that war changes everyone.

102.

The author was ____ years old when he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.

a)

18

b)

20

c)

21

d)

24

103.

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?

a)

He wants the reader to sympathize with him.

b)

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

c)

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

d)

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

104.

The monks constructed the ________________________ at the top of this hill and it continue to be a symbol of peach for the community.

a)

causeway

b)

gape

c)

pagoda

d)

quaint