The Things They Carried

What do Kiowa and Bowker talk about?

The brevity of life

Who is shot and killed?

Ted Lavender

Who is the narrator?

Tim O'Brien

What distracts Cross constantly?

His unrequited love for Martha

Whom does Cross go to visit?

Tim O'Brien

How does Martha react to Cross's profession of love?

She says nothing.

What does Martha give Cross?

A new picture of herself

What does Cross ask O'Brien to do in the book he is writing?

Make him look good

What does Kiowa say to O'Brien after the young Vietnamese man's death?

O'Brien didn't have a choice.

how long did o brien stay in the lodge

6 days

How is Strunk mortally wounded?

He is blasted by a mortar shell.

What does Strunk ask Jensen to do?

Not kill him

What is Jensen's reaction to Strunk's death?

He is relieved.

What was Lemon doing when he was killed?

Playing with a grenade

What does O'Brien say to the woman about his story?

He wishes it were a love story.

Why doesn't Lemon like dentists?

He had some bad experiences in the past.

What does Lemon do when he first meets with the dentist?

He passes out.

What does Lemon demand of the dentist later?

For him to pull out a tooth

Whom does Mark Fossie write a letter to?

His girlfriend

How does Mary Anne react to Vietnam?

She loves it

What did Mary Anne do all night?

Went out on an ambush

What does Mary Anne tells Fossie after she'd been missing for three weeks?

He doesn't understand Vietnam.

What does Kiley say happened to Mary Anne?

She became one with the jungle.

What does Dobbins wear around his neck?

His girlfriend's pantyhose

What does Dobbins inexplicably survive?

Tripping a landmine

How long do the soldiers stay at the make-shift church?

About 1 week

Which of Dobbins's possessions do the monks clean?

His machine gun

Why would Dobbins like to join the church?

He would enjoy the community.

What does Kiowa say he wouldn't enjoy?

Being a preacher

How does Kiowa rationalize the Vietnamese man's death?

He was a soldier; it was to be expected.

How does O'Brien react to Kiowa's attempt to comfort him?

He says nothing.

What does O'Brien tell his daughter about the war?

He never killed anyone.

What was Kiowa doing when O'Brien tossed the grenade?

Sleeping

What does the Vietnamese man do in O'Brien's daydreams?

Smiles at him

Why is the girl dancing, according to Azar?

She's performing a ritual.

How does Azar react to the girl's dancing?

He sexually mocks it.

What does Bowker realize when he returns from the war?

He has nowhere to go.

How does Bowker imagine his father would console him?

He would mention all the medals that he received.

Who asked O'Brien to write "Speaking of Courage?"

Bowker

Why did Bowker not like the original published story?

It didn't mention Kiowa.

What does O'Brien want to stress about Bowker?

He didn't lack courage.

What does Cross decide to do in the wake of Kiowa's death?

Write Kiowa's parents a letter

What does Azar do while searching for Kiowa's body?

He jokes around.

What does Cross think about while writing the letter?

He never wanted to be a leader.

Why does the young soldier want to find Kiowa so badly?

Because Kiowa had a picture of his girlfriend

What is Cross thinking about after finding Kiowa's body?

Golf

What does O'Brien compare?

Real truth and story truth

What did O'Brien say he saw on the trail near My Khe?

A man die

What does O'Brien say he wants to accomplish by not being truthful?

He wants to elicit emotional truth.

what did Lt Jimmy Cross carry? :)

Maps, compass, letters from Martha, pebble from Martha

what was jimmy crosses emotional burden

Guilt over Ted Lavender’s death, love for Martha, shame

what did tim carry with him

a typewriter and a rifle

tim o brien burdens

Guilt over joining the war, storytelling burden, survivor’s guilt

Kiowa things he carried

New Testament Bible, moccasins, hatchet

kiowa emotional burden

Strong moral compass, faith, trauma of war

ted lavender what did he carry

Tranquilizers, extra ammo, marijuana

Ted Lavender burdens

Fear, desire to escape war

Mitchell Sanders physical

Condoms, brass knuckles, radio

mitchell sanders emotional burdens

Moral reflection, storytelling values

norman bowker physical

diary, thumb given by sanders

norman bowker emotial

Inability to cope with post-war life, grief over Kiowa

rat kiley items

Comic books, M&Ms, morphine, medical kit

rat kiley emotinal

Trauma, need to document horror, psychological collapse

Henry Dobbins physical

Extra rations, pantyhose from his girlfriend

henry dobbins emotional

Sentimentality, desire for comfort and love

dave jensen physical

Toothbrush, vitamins, rabbit’s foot

dave jensen emotional

Paranoia, guilt after fight with Lee Strunk

Lee Strunk physical

Slingshot, tanning lotion

lee struck emotional

Fear of dying, pact with Jensen

Burden vs. Responsibility

• Soldiers carry both physical weight and emotional baggage (grief, guilt, fear).

• The items often symbolize what each man values or fears

Storytelling & Truth

• O’Brien explores how stories can tell emotional truths, even if they’re fictional.

• “A thing may not happen, but it’s still true if it expresses what it felt like.”

death and trauma

• Constant threat of death changes how the characters cope.

• Several stories ("The Man I Killed," "Speaking of Courage") delve into PTSD and survivor's guilt.

Masculinity & Shame

• Shame plays a huge role: O’Brien joins the war not out of duty, but fear of embarrassment.

• The men suppress emotion due to societal expectations.

The Things They Carried

Introduces the items and emotions carried by soldiers

Burden, emotional trauma, character intros

On the Rainy River

Tim almost flees to Canada, but doesn’t

Shame, societal pressure, moral dilemma

How to Tell a True War Story

Contrasts truth vs. emotional truth

Truth, trauma, unreliability of memory

The Man I Killed

O’Brien fixates on a man he killed

Guilt, humanizing the enemy

Speaking of Courage

Norman Bowker after the war, aimless

PTSD, isolation, survivor’s guilt

In the Field

Searching for Kiowa’s body

Blame, grief, the randomness of death

Good Form

’Brien admits he’s mixing truth and fiction

Metafiction, truth in storytelling

The Lives of the Dead

Tim tells stories to keep the dead alive

Memory, storytelling as healing

Symbol	Meaning
The things (items)

Tangible representations of fear, guilt, comfort

Martha’s letters

Escapism, unrequited love, distraction

Kiowa’s moccasins/Bible

Spirituality, heritage, moral compass

Dead bodies

The cost of war, fragility of life

Rain/Water

Often linked to death and emotional drowning

Why does O’Brien say he went to war?

Out of shame; he was afraid of being judged

How does O’Brien use metafiction?

He inserts himself as both character and author, questioning truth and fiction.

What does Lt. Cross learn after Ted Lavender's death?

He resolves to stop daydreaming about Martha and focus on responsibility.

How does the story show the war’s long-term effects?

Characters like Norman Bowker and Rat Kiley suffer deeply after the war.

What does the book suggest about the nature of truth?

Emotional truth can be more important than literal accuracy.

Tim O Brien character analysis:

Narrator, author, fearful and unprepared, shares his reflections

Norman Bowker analysis

isolated couragous

jimmy cross character analysis

platoon leader, college graduate, thoughtful and imaginative deeply troubled by his love for Martha and his responsibilities as a leader. loyal.

henry dobbins character analysis

machine gunner, gentle man, wants to be a minister, panty hose

rat kiley character analysis

story teller, deeply emotional, companys medic

kiowa anaylsis

devout baptisit, kind and paitent

mitchell sanders analysis

father figure of the group, always looking for a moral, but war stories have no moral

what did Jimmy Cross ask of Tim?

to not portray him as a bad or careless leader in the story he writes. s Tim permission to write about him, but he asks Tim to portray him with dignity—to make it clear that he wasn’t at fault, even though he feels responsible.

vietnam is the garden of eden…

where every sin is fresh and originaland paradise is lost due to the war's horrors.