O'Briens Purpose in Writing The Things They Carried

Through discussing the workings of stories, O'Brien admits to the reader his purpose behind writing "The Things They Carried". O'Brien states that "the thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head" (O'Brien 218). Through writing "The Things They Carried," he is creating a story which will make the spirits of those who are no longer in his life (such as Kiowa, Lavender, Linda) come alive in his head. O'Brien writes so that the readers of the novel will experience the people he knew through his eyes, the way he has permanently recorded them and intends them to be remembered and seen. For example, the beautiful innocence of Linda which he paints in "The Lives of the Dead" is the memory O'Brien intends to keep of her and immortalize through a story, "hoping that others might then dream [about her] along with [him]" (O'Brien 218).

What is O'Brien's purpose in writing this novel?

Be definitive as possible; justify your answer with specific references to the novel.

DUE: November 3rd

TTTC Seminar (thursday)

#1. Discuss the various things the men carried. (material, emotional, symbolic)

#2. O'Brian says "sometimes [the war] could almost get sweet." What does he mean by this? Give examples.

#3. Discuss the role of adolescence in war portrayed in the novel.

#4. What are O'Brian's rules for writing a true war story? Is he consistent with following them?

#5. TTTC is classified as fiction. If O'Brian's stories are said to be true, and from memory, how can this be?

#6. How do the men cope with war? how do they change?.

#7. In "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", discuss Mary Ann's transition.

#8. What does Tim say is the purpose of stories? Why is he obsessed with writing war stories?

#9. Discuss Tim's obsession with the man he killed. How is this event psychologically significant?

#10. Discuss the role of animal cruelty in the novel. What is O'Brain's intention?

Questions for Socratic Seminar C Period (10/6/10)

How are theme, motif, diction, imagery and other literary techniques used in "Spin" "Enemies" "Friends" "Church" "Ambush" "The Man I Killed" "Style" "Sweetheart ... Bog".

How is Irony expressed in the titles of “Enemies” and in “Friends”?

Why did O’Brien write these stories as two separate stories?

In” Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” what does Mary Anne represent? What does her change show about her? What does the change in her represent?

Why is “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bon” important to the collection of short stories? Why did O’Brien choose to put it in the book?

How are women portrayed throughout the different short stories? What attitude do you think O’Brien has towards women?

How does Henry Dobbins feel about people? What does Henry Dobbins show about his character in church and in style?

What is significant about Henry Dobbins?

Why was the girl dancing in Style, even though there was so much destruction around her?

How are the Vietnamese people portrayed by O’Brien?

How does O’Briens perspective change between “Ambush” and “The Man I killed”?

How does O’Brien know the details of the life of the man he killed? What key phrases indicate this?

Which story is most like a true war story?