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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 did he do that night after he fainted in the dentist tent?

2. What does Mitchell Sanders call 'Nam'?

3. How does Lee Strunk think the doctors will treat the wound?

4. Who began to tense up in the line waiting for an examination?

5. Who is the boyfriend of Mary Anne Bell?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Explain how the rhyme "Step out of line, hit a mine; follow the dink, you're in the pink." changed meanings?

3. What puts the death pact to the test? Be specific.

4. How did things start when Mary Anne first arrived, and how did they change?

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

6. What is Henry's reaction to his girlfriend dumping him?

7. What happens to make the platoon believe in the good luck provided by the pantyhose?

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

9. How does Lieutenant Cross resolve his responsibility in Ted Lavender's death?

10. Explain why you think Dave Jensen is so upset someone stole from him.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Can you identify with Kathleen's struggle to understand the war? She asks in the chapter titled "Field Trip" why her father had to fight in the Vietnam War, and what made everyone mad at each other? Do you think wars are generally started over clear issues of disagreement? In either case, do you think that affects the ability of the war to have a resolution?

Essay Topic 2

"The Things They Carried" is very specific about the items the men carried into battle. Choose three significant objects and explain who they belong to, why it was considered important, and what the object represented for the soldier and the reader.

Essay Topic 3

"The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction" is described as 22 short stories tied into a novel. Select a chapter from the novel and explain how the title relates to the story, and evaluate if the chapter could stand alone as a short story. Identify its weaknesses and strengths and how it fulfills or fails to satisfy the requirements of a story: beginning, middle and end.

(see the answer keys)

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