The following questions come from the Random House guide to reading
The Things They Carried. Please answer each question
thoughtfully and thoroughly. Your typed responses
will be incorporated in a presentation the first week of school.
- Why is the first story, "The Things They Carried,"
written in third person? How does this serve to introduce the
rest of the novel? What effect did it have on your experience
of the novel when O'Brien switched to first person, and you
realized the narrator was one of the soldiers?
- In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what
item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative
of the war? Which items stay with you?
- Often, in the course of his stories, O'Brien tells us beforehand
whether or not the story will have a happy or tragic ending.
Why might he do so? How does it affect your attitude towards
the narrator?
- According to O'Brien, how do you tell a true war story? What
does he mean when he says that true war stories are never about
war? What does he mean when he writes of one story, "That's
a true story that never happened"?
- In "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," what transforms
Mary Anne into a predatory killer? Does it matter that Mary
Anne is a woman? How so? What does the story tell us about the
nature of the Vietnam War?
- The story Rat tells in "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"
is highly fantastical. Does its lack of believability make it
any less compelling? Do you believe it? Does it fit O'Brien's
criteria for a true war story?
- What is the effect of "Notes," in which O'Brien
explains the story behind "Speaking Of Courage"? Does
your appreciation of the story change when you learn which parts
are "true" and which are the author's invention?
- In "In The Field," O'Brien writes, "When a
man died, there had to be blame." What does this mandate
do to the men of O'Brien's company? Are they justified in thinking
themselves at fault? How do they cope with their own feelings
of culpability?
For the second work:
Select
a work of literary merit to serve as your summer reading text.
This may be a novel, full-length play, or a volume of poetry.
While there is no one universally accepted set of criteria as
to what constitutes literary merit, consider the following questions:
Is it profound? Does it have something important to say? Does
it convey a significant view of life? Does it give insight into
a universal human problem?
Place
an index card in the selected volume, and as you read, make note
of any passages that you enjoy or find meaningful (include page
numbers). Also, note any passages that cause confusion or that
raise questions (again include the page numbers). You will turn
in your index card during the first week of class. Be prepared
to share with the class your notes and ideas about your selection
and its literary merit.
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