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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 almost killed Tim?

2. Who is the most upset by the act, and wants to know why the villager is behaving that way?

3. Other than Kathleen and Tim, who else watched him get into the river?

4. What question of Kathleen's does Tim have a hard time finding an answer to?

5. Who does Rat Kiley accuse of whispering his name?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What was Tim's first experience with death?

6. Who does Tim go on a trip with and where do they go?

7. What does Tim invent about the man he killed?

8. What is the purpose of the visit to the battlefield where Kiowa was killed?

9. Explain Tim's dilemma about how he killed a man on the trail outside My Khe.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

As a new book critic for a top national newspaper, you have just been assigned the novel "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. Give a full critique of the story and evaluation of the text for other potential readers. What is significant about the novel that makes it a good recommendation for readers? What detracts from the novel's appeal and makes it not a book you would recommend? Finally, is there any way the book ties into modern life and current events to make it timely?

Essay Topic 3

Explain the moral you see in the story of Tim getting even with Bobby Jorgenson. How does the story handle the themes of revenge, forgiveness, and personal responsibility against the back drop of a war?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,121 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample