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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 color clothes was the man wearing when Tim killed him?

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

3. Which is NOT a way the men react to Rat Kiley's injury?

4. Why does Henry Dobbins think the girl is dancing?

5. How old was Tim when he first dealt with death?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Tim react to Bobby Jorgenson's failings as a medic?

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

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

5. How does Norman Bowker ultimately cope with returning home?

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

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

8. What power do stories have for people dealing with death?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Explain Lieutenant Cross's responsibility or perceived responsibility in the various deaths of his men. How does he react to each one? Do his actions live up to his words and thoughts of improvement as a leader?

Essay Topic 3

"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.

(see the answer keys)

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