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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 is the name of Tim's daughter?

2. Who do the platoon meet in the village?

3. Who is the most "spooked" in the end?

4. What did Tim use to kill the man on the trail?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the men recover Kiowa's body?

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

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

4. What does the dancing girl symbolize to you?

5. What two types of truth are there for the author and reader?

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

7. What happens to Tim after he kills the man in the path with a grenade?

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

9. What is the main struggle for the narrator/author in the chapter "Good Form?"

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

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

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 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.

(see the answer keys)

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