Tuesday and Wednesday, February 11 and 12

TUESDAY, FEB. 11

We'll review for Wednesday's test.  I'll be as explicit as I can about what's going to be on the test.

For example, there will be a Passage Analysis question (short essay on a passage from the second half of the book), and an Interpretive Essay.  For the latter, you'll have a choice of three prompts, all pertaining to the latter half of the book (plus "How to Tell a True War Story).

The three prompts appear here, among these six:

1.     How, according to Tim O’Brien, does someone “tell a true war story”?  What is ironic or double-edged about the phrase “a true war story” in the context of The Things They Carried?  Choose one story from the second half of the book and clearly explain how this story lives up to O’Brien’s standard of telling “a true war story” – in its events, its characters, and its emotional life.

2.     Discuss the idea of “Notes,” both as it pertains to “Speaking of Courage,” and as a metaphor.  What kinds of notes appear in “Notes”?  How does this chapter contribute to the overall meaning of the book? 

3.      Compare the way guilt affects the lives of Norman Bowker and Rat Kiley.  In what ways is guilt a motivating factor in their behavior?  What makes shame or guilt so difficult?  In what way does guilt provoke each man to make emotional decisions instead of well-reasoned decisions? How does storytelling help to relieve some of Norman’s and Rat’s guilt?

4.     Paradox is central to The Things They Carried.  Write about one of the following paradoxical relationships in the book, making specific references to events and ideas:  war and beauty; the fourteen-year old orphan who dances when her family is killed; enemies among friends; valor and embarrassment.  Explain what your chosen paradox seems to signify to Tim O’Brien.

5.     O’Brien ends the book with “The Lives of the Dead.”  Referring to this and at least two other stories (chapters) in The Things They Carried as examples, explain what O’Brien means by this phrase.  In what sense do dead people come alive in The Things They Carried? 

6.     At one point Tim O’Brien says that his writing is “not therapeutic"; however, at the end of the book he writes about the life-saving quality of stories.  Discuss the theme of art and healing in The Things They Carried.

The test will be Closed-Book, but you'll be allowed to bring ONE SHEET of rough-outline notes into the test -- quotations from the book and bullet-point ideas for essays.  You'll staple these to your test when you hand it in.  Do the math:  if you outline at least four of the six essays, you'll be bound to have at least one essay that's fully outlined & ready to write when you walk in on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12:  Written test on The Things They Carried, with a strong emphasis on the latter half of the book -- from "The Man I Killed" to the end.