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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mary Anne like to do when she disappears from the medical unit?

2. How does Jimmy ask Tim to portray him in the book he is writing?

3. What is Jimmy Cross's last request to Tim at the end chapter 2?

4. "A true war story, if truly told, makes the ____________ believe."

5. What year does Tim graduate college?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain your thoughts on this quote: "I was a coward. I went to war."

2. How does the narrator feel about the war in Vietnam?

3. Why do you think Curt's sister gives the response she does?

4. What is so unbelievable about Rat Kiley's story?

5. Why was Curt Lemon afraid of the dentist?

6. Who did you think was the victim as you read the chapter, and who did you think was the victim once you finished it? Why?

7. Give an example of a stark contrast between how the men normally behave, and how the war changes their behavior.

8. Who was Elroy Berdahl and what is his significance to the narrator?

9. What does Dave Jensen do to make himself square with Lee Strunk?

10. Why do the men like checkers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Most novels have critic blurbs on the cover or in media advertising for the book. Choose one critic's blurb about "The Things They Carried" and respond to the quote. Do you agree or disagree with the critic's assessment of the novel, and where is there evidence in the novel to support your point of view?

Essay Topic 2

There are many places where the concepts of right and wrong are blurred in the pages of "The Things They Carried." Ideas of draft dodging, self-inflicted wounds, disrespecting the dead, and even theft are handled with lightness. What do you think the narrator/author is trying to say about the morality of war? Chose a couple of instances in the text where conventional morality is disregarded, and explain the purpose of this device to influence the reader.

Essay Topic 3

Although the book is labeled "a work of fiction," it reads very similar to a memoir- a recollection of events and people from the author's past. Explain any indications that Tim O'Brien may not be a trustworthy narrator. Where in the text are there signs he is leaving something out, or passages where the reader should second-guess his account? Are there particular passages where a reader may be more likely to believe O'Brien's narrative? Use no less than three specific areas of text to evaluate Tim O'Brien as a reliable or unreliable narrator.

(see the answer keys)

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