Reading Assignments 2015:
Assignment 1: Due: Wednesday, April 15 (5w) and Thursday, April 16 (per 3)
pages 1-85 “The Things They Carried,” “Love,” “Spin,” “On the Rainy River,” “Enemies,” “Friends,” “How To Tell a True War Story”
1. List all techniques O’Brien uses in the first chapter to create effect.
2. Why is the chapter “Spin” titled as it is and what does the chapter say about memory?
3. Write an open response (personal and first-person) about “On the Rainy River” -- how does it impact you? What is O’Brien’s message and meaning? What are his techniques for creating this impact?
4. Write a memory list for “How to Tell a True War Story.” What stays with you? What is the moral? What is truth? How DO you tell a true war story? What are the paradoxes of war?
Assignment 2: Due: Tuesday, April 28 (per 3) and Wednesday, April 29 (per 5W)
pages 86-161 “The Dentist,” “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong,” “Stockings,” “Church,” “The Man I Killed,” “Ambush,” “Style,” “Speaking of Courage,” “Notes”
1. Write a brief character sketch of Mary Anne Bell. Who is she? What does she look like? What characterizes her?
2. What is the point of the story of “The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”? What’s the “moral” of the story?
3. What is it in the telling of the story that makes it so impactful?
4. Close Reading of “Man I Killed” (guided)
Transcript of Interview: Tim O'Brien discusses fact and fiction, writing, etc.