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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 Dave Jensen ask Lee Strunk?

2. What does Dave Jensen do when he snaps?

3. When Kiowa says "No choice, Tim. What else could you do?" what can we assume he is talking about?

4. What game do Henry Dobbins and Norman Bowker play?

5. According to the narrator, what is a characteristic of a "true war story?"

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. How did Tim see Curt Lemon's personality?

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

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

6. Why was Curt Lemon afraid of the dentist?

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

8. What was the story for Mitchell Sander's moral of "Nobody listens?"

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

10. Why do Jimmy Cross and Tim O'Brien stop drinking coffee, and what do they switch to?

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

Chronicle the beginning, growth, and ultimate end of the one of the following relationships: Curt Lemon/Rat Kiley; Dave Jensen/Lee Strunk. Be sure to explain how major and minor events affected the relationship, and how the surviving party handled the loss of a friend.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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