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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. Who are the men order to see?

2. What is one thing Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk are NOT described as doing together?

3. Why is Kiowa against camping at the pagoda?

4. Who was excused from tunnel duty due to size?

5. Who shares the story of the girlfriend in Vietnam?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. Why does Rat Kiley write a letter to Curt Lemon's sister, and what does the letter contain?

4. What caused Henry Dobbins to rule out a career as a minister?

5. How does the incident of the broken noses affect the relationship between Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk?

6. Why was Curt Lemon afraid of the dentist?

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

8. What are Henry Dobbins' tentative plans for after the war?

9. Why is the story of Rat Kiley killing the baby water buffalo a "love" story?

10. Why did the men have to see the dentist?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The chapter titled "How to Tell a True War Story," gives very specific advice on what constitutes a war story and how lessons or morals should be pulled from a war story by the listener. Using the principles in this chapter given by the author, analyze any of the war stories told in another chapter of the book "The Things They Carried." Be sure to identify the main components of the war story, and how the war story complies or deviates from the principles in the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story."

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

"The Things They Carried" tackles the theme of death in numerous ways. There are accountings of anticipated deaths, surprise deaths, and even brushes with near-death. Explore how the novel handles each type of death, and the overall message the book communicates about this universal theme. Be sure to cite specific textual evidence.

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