“The Things They Carried” “A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil. ” ― Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried

As a Table: Choose 5 questions to answer As a Table: Choose 5 questions to answer. Respond to each question on your notebook paper, BUT each response can only have a one word answer and that one word must completely answer the question. You may have more than one word if the question has multiple questions within it. Your answers cannot be yes or no! In what sense does Jimmy love Martha? Why does he construct this elaborate (mostly fictional) relationship with her? What does he get out of it?  2.      When is Jimmy most likely to think about Martha? Why is he thinking about her while one of his platoon members is in the tunnel?  3.      Why did Lieutenant Jimmy Cross feel guilty about Ted Lavender’s death? In what sense is Ted Lavender’s death his fault?  4.      Here is his excuse for allowing his men to be lax: “He was just a kid at war, in love.” Why does Jimmy use this excuse? In what sense does it excuse him? In what sense, doesn’t it?  5.      Why do the soldiers tell jokes about war, about killing? Why do they use profanity?  6.      How is the idea of weight used and developed in this story (“Jungle boots, 2.1 pounds.”)? How do you, as a reader, feel reading those lists of weight? What effect does it have on you?  7.      If this is a story about sacrifice, what does Jimmy sacrifice, and why?  8.      How has Jimmy changed by the end of the story? How will he be a different person from this point on? What has he learned about himself? Or, to put it another way, what has he lost and what has he gained?  9.      Do you think the war will affect him in a different way now that he refuses to think about Martha? How will it be different? What did “Martha” save him from?

Your Journey . . . So far today . . . How far did you travel to get here (my room, E113)?How did you get here? What have you brought with you on this journey? What are you currently carrying? (And, um, be 100% school appropriate!)

Let’s Make A List What do you carry every day in school? What things do you carry that are visible to the world? What things are more hidden? What do others make you carry? What things do you carry that you’d like to put down?

Your Anatomy textbook could be 3.4 pounds. Look at the list that you have and decide what you would estimate the symbolic weight to be of your items? For example, a referral could be 50 pounds to one person, to another it could be weightless. Your Anatomy textbook could be 3.4 pounds. (not everything has to have a weight – but look to see where you would want to assign a weight)

As a table – talk about the categories of things that you each carry while at school. For example: Necessities, luxuries, etc . . . Be sure that you can put each of your items in the categories that you create!

Your Task: For homework tonight, I want you to create a paragraph 12-15 sentences talking about all the things you carry during school. These can be literal items or symbolic items. Some can have weights, but not all. Think about the piece “The Things They Carried” and try to replicate that. This should be typed – MLA format. Be creative! Be Thoughtful! But be sure that you are school appropriate!!!!!