The Things They Carried,
by Tim O’Brien
Study Questions for Part 2
"On the Rainy River"
- How did Tim feel about the Vietnam
War while he was at college?
- On pg. 40, what does he mean by
"dominoes"? (hint: what was the "domino theory"?)
- What was Tim’s job in the summer
of 1968?
- What were Tim’s options once he
received his draft notice?
- Who did he hold responsible for
his situation?
- Who did he think should go to
war instead of him?
- What did he do at work when he
decided to leave?
- What does Tim say is Elroy Berdhal’s
role in his life?
- What sort of person was Elroy?
How did Tim know?
- What was the financial deal Elroy
made with Tim?
- Where did Elroy take Tim &
Elroy on the 6th day?
- What typical images of boyhood
did Tim remember about himself while on the river?
- Who are the following people:
LBJ, Abbie Hoffman, Jane Fonda as Barbarella?
- What was Elroy Berdhal’s role
that day?
- What did Tim end up doing about
his situation?
"Enemies"
- Who broke whose nose?
- What was the effect of the fight
on Jensen?
- What did Jensen finally do to
resolve the conflict between them?
"Friends"
- What was the pact that Dave Jensen
& Lee Strunk made together?
- What happened to Lee Strunk?
- What was he afraid of when he
saw Jensen, and what did he make him promise?
"How to Tell a True War Story"
- What happens when you "send guys
to war"?
- What were Curt Lemon and Rat Kiley
doing when Curt stepped on the land mine?
- How does O’Brien describe Lemon’s
death on pg. 70?
- Why is it difficult "to separate
what happened from what seemed to happen"?
- What was the mission of the patrol
that went up to the mountains?
- What did they hear while they
were there?
- What did they end up doing about
it?
- On pg. 76, what does Mitchell
Sanders say is the moral of his story?
- What does Sanders later admit
about his story?
- What happened to the VC water
buffalo?
- What did Rat do afterwards?
- What does "proximity to death"
bring with it?
- On pg. 82, what is the "only certainty"?
- What wakes Tim up at night 20
years later?
- What did Tim think Curt Lemon
must’ve thought killed him?
- What does the nice middle-aged
woman think Tim should do?
- What does he want to say to her
about the baby buffalo, and everything else in the story?
- According to O’Brien, what is
a true war story NEVER about?