View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What member of the platoon attempts to comfort Tim after he kills a man?

2. What color clothes was the man wearing when Tim killed him?

3. How do the men in the platoon treat Tim when they run into him at the supply command?

4. Who defends Lt. Cross from being at fault when the other guys want to blame him?

5. Who was the first person Tim grieved for their death?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Norma Bowker's life before the war and after the war contrasted?

2. What is unique about the movements required of Alpha Company for this chapter's mission?

3. What happens to Tim after he kills the man in the path with a grenade?

4. Do you agree with Kiowa or Tim's point of view about the kill? Why?

5. What important information does the reader learn about the story in the preceding chapter?

6. Explain who feels blame for Kiowa's death.

7. How does Tim react to Bobby Jorgenson's failings as a medic?

8. How does Rat Kiley cope with the difficult mission of up all night, and sleeping during the day?

9. How do Henry Dobbins and Azar disagree about the girl's motive to dance?

10. Contrast the two times Tim was shot.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If you were Tim writing a letter to his daughter Kathleen, either at her age now or the age she is in the book, what would be the most important aspects of your experiences in the war that you would want to share with her and teach her about the world?

Essay Topic 2

The story of Kiowa's death is told from at least two different point of views. Using all textual evidence and your own assumptions, what do you think really happened? What was the role of Norman Bowker, Lieutenant Cross, and Tim O'Brien? Who is the most responsible for Kiowa's death?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,262 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample