The Things They Carried Group at eNotes

"Not listening" is a common motif in the novel because O'Brien subverts...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:39:53 PST

"Not listening" is a common motif in the novel because O'Brien subverts the rhetorical dynamics between author, text, and audience. The problem is between author and audience, or between speaker and listener. There are listening difficulties between men and women, between veterans and civilians, within a homogeneous group of soldiers, in the pre-war stories, the war stories, and the post-war stories. So, the stories in The Things They...

Why is the act of listening so very important in The Things They Carried?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:55:30 PST

Why is the act of listening so very important in The Things They Carried?

You could have them read a little bit of Walter Dean Myers fictional...

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:43:47 PST

You could have them read a little bit of Walter Dean Myers fictional Fallen Angels. I have had many junior non-readers say that this is the only book that they have actually read for school and enjoyed. The novel follows a young African-American through his combat experience in the war. The author uses a good mix of humor and male bonding to discuss how war changes someone. If you don't have time to read another work, I would suggest having...

Connections

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:50:29 PST

I'm looking for a creative way to help my jr. & sr. boys somehow relate to what these men went through. They are low level readers and seem very disconnected from the text.

At first glance, it might seem that the story of a little girl dying of...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:21:43 PST

At first glance, it might seem that the story of a little girl dying of cancer seems out of place in a book about soldiers experiencing combat in the Vietnam War. However, Linda's tale is part of the author's story "The Lives of the Dead" from this anthology because it addresses how humans cope with the grief of losing someone. After O'Brien opens the story by discussing a scene in Vietnam and the death of Ted Lavender, he flashes back to...

Why does O'Brien choose to include the story about a young girl named...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:02:05 PST

Why does O'Brien choose to include the story about a young girl named Linda in the book The Things They Carried?

In general, they were treated as outcasts and demonized by many whom...

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:19:49 PST

In general, they were treated as outcasts and demonized by many whom they encountered back here in "the world." Specifically, many had difficulty adjusting without those whom they had grown so close to over in Vietnam. Their families expected them to be the same, and they wanted to be the same, but are unable to do so. Norman Bowker is a good example. He writes Tim and tells him that he can't keep a job; he's restless; no one understands...

In this opening and title story of O'Brien's anthology, the author sets...

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 19:34:10 PST

In this opening and title story of O'Brien's anthology, the author sets up a pattern of using flashback chronology and brief interruptions in time. For example, when O'Brien describes Lt. Jimmy Cross and his photo of Martha, he mentions Lt. Cross's routine with the photo, but he interrupts the description with flashbacks in Cross's mind to when he had a date with Martha. In addition to this interruption technique, O'Brien narrates most of...

The Things They Carried "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" Gender Roles...

The Things They Carried Essay Test

This goes back to the "things" these men carrying having more than just...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:18:30 PST

This goes back to the "things" these men carrying having more than just concrete weight associated with something. For these men, everything they carry has a certain "weight" attributed to it. For example Dobbins panty hose weigh more than the 1 lb concrete weight. They weigh more because they symbolize home or love; even if that was in the past, there may have still been love there. They are also a shield or a symbol for a more literal...

Another woman character that we see briefly in this story is...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:14:24 PST

Another woman character that we see briefly in this story is O’Brien’s daughter Kathleen, although touched on very briefly. She is brought up at the end of Chapter 2; Love. O'Brien recalls Kathleen asking her father why he doesn't write stories about love and belonging; a kind of happy story with a happy ending. O’Brien uses this to show that not all stories do and will have happy endings, and you sometimes just have to accept the...

Chapter 20 (The Ghost Soldiers) Was Tim right in wanting revenge against...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:22:59 PST

Chapter 20 (The Ghost Soldiers) Was Tim right in wanting revenge against Bobby Jorgensen? explain

In O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," how is chronology used?

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:50:44 PST

In O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," how is chronology used?

Yes and no. Even though these stories are "fictional," all readers of...

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:20:02 PST

Yes and no. Even though these stories are "fictional," all readers of The Things They Carry realize that Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam Veteran, includes more fact and reality than fiction; so if one thinks of O'Brien as the narrator, the answer is that yes he does transition, but also "no," because no one can truly leave behind a traumatic experience like combat. The narrator, after relaying Norman Bowker's heart-rending experience after coming...

Norman Bowker, in "Speaking of Courage," has won seven medals from his...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:20:58 PST

Norman Bowker, in "Speaking of Courage," has won seven medals from his Vietnam tour of duty: the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. But he is one short: the Silver Star. He might have won this if he would have helped save Kiowa from the shitfield. He obviously suffers from survivor's guilt, and his subsequent suicide suggests that no amount of medals would...

In Chapter 16 or "Notes" from The Things They Carried, has the narrator...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:33:16 PST

In Chapter 16 or "Notes" from The Things They Carried, has the narrator successfully transitioned from Vietnam to civilian life?

In Chapter 15 of "The Things They Carried", explain whether the seven...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:31:11 PST

In Chapter 15 of "The Things They Carried", explain whether the seven medals were enough for Norman Bowker and his father.

Tim O'Brien is a master of storytelling. In fact, he's a master of...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:21:40 PST

Tim O'Brien is a master of storytelling. In fact, he's a master of storytelling about storytelling. It's called metafiction. Fiction about fiction. This is a story about a story, or storytelling. When someone is about to tell a tall-tale, a storyteller will preface it with "This is one I've never told before. Not to anyone" or "You won't believe this story; you can't make this stuff up..." or some such jazz. It's a way to draw the...

"The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy is a poem written by a narrator (in...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:34:17 PST

"The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy is a poem written by a narrator (in the first person) who overhears a soldier (they are both in a bar) saying how he killed a man mindlessly ("I shot him dead because--because he was my foe"). The irony of the poem is that, if that same man would be sitting in the bar now, the narrator would buy him a drink. "The Man I Killed" by Tim O'Brien is a third-person account of how Tim O'Brien killed a Vietcong...