The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien - Character Baggage

The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien - Character Baggage - Answer Key Page 4

Non-physical items all soldiers carry…

 a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried

 ghosts

 the weight of memory

 they took up what others could no longer bear

 they carried each other – the wounded or the weak

 diseases

o malaria, dysentery, lice, ringworm, paddy algae, leeches, rots, and molds

 Vietnam

o the land, the sky, the whole atmosphere (humidity, monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay)

 gravity

 their own lives

 the emotions of grief, terror, love, longing

 the secret of cowardice barely restrained

Reflecting on the things they carried:

Answer all questions in complete, detailed sentences on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Physically, we can estimate that to soldiers carried approximately 194.8 lbs. How would this make the soldiers feel? Explain.

2. Author Tim O’Brien narrates, “To carry something was to hump it, as when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and

through the swamps” (3-4). Even though things such as Cross’s love for Martha and the emotions and ideas in the table above have no physical

weight, how do these, when coupled with the weight of the physical items that the soldiers carry, affect the soldiers? Explain your thinking.

3. Overall, why does Tim O’Brien choose to title his novel The Things They Carried? Explain.

The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien - Character Baggage - Answer Key Page 4