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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. Norman Bowker's father only cares about what?

2. Who is unlucky to draw tunnel duty during the mission outside Than Khe?

3. What information is the letter Henry Dobbins receives in October?

4. How many monks are there to help the men with camp?

5. Who kills Tim Lavender's stray puppy with a Claymore?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think Martha never married?

2. How does Curt Lemon recover from his personal failure at the dentist?

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

4. How were Lieutenant Cross's tears misinterpreted after the death of Ted Lavender?

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

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

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

8. How are the terms of the death pact ultimately carried out?

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

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 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 2

Identify and analyze how we can tell the author has cleaned up or edited the story in one of the following cases: Curt Lemon going trick-or-treating on Halloween, the death of Kiowa, the story of Morty Phillips, the story of the sweetheart of Song Tra Bong. What additional details can the reader assume from the information contained in the text? What was likely to be the 'truth' ?

Essay Topic 3

The concept of truth is challenged repeatedly in "The Things They Carried." Men tell embellished stories, exaggerate their own lives, and even the narrator casts doubt as to the honesty of the stories contained within the novel. What are your thoughts about the truth of "The Things They Carried" and why? Are there places you feel the accounting is accurate, and other places where the story has been stretched and skewed? What textual evidence leads you to these conclusions?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,150 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample