The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War ( ) 1954: End of French colonial rule 1954: Vietnam divided in Geneva accords 1959: Start of Viet Cong guerilla attacks on South 1964: Tonkin Incident / Americanization of the war 1968: Tet-Offensive 1969: My Lai Massacre 1969: Vietnamization of the war 1974: Withdrawal of American troops 1975: Surrender of South Vietnam, end of war

The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.

"The things they carried were determined by necessity" "[…] plus the unweighed fear"  physical objects  letters  can openers  knives  ‘dog tags’  canteens  weapons  "emotional baggage"  fears / anxieties  grief  terror  love  shameful memories  common secrets "The Things They Carried"

Group Task  Choose a character from the story and list the things he carries. Then discuss what each of the items on your list tells us about…  … the character  … the war Jimmy Cross KiowaDave Jensen Rat Kiley Henry DobbinsTed Lavender Norman Bowker Mitchell SandersLee Strunk

Writing Task  Write a 3oo word essay about a special thing you carry/carried. Describe the object in detail, the mood it evokes and the reasons for its importance.

After a day’s march he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters […] and spend the last hour of light pretending. Foxhole

He was just a kid at war, in love. He was twenty-four years old. He couldn’t help it. US draft

Will your flashlight go dead? Do rats carry rabies? If you screamed, how far would the sound carry? Would your buddies hear it? ‘Tunnel rats’

Like cement, Kiowa whispered in the dark. I swear to God – boom – down. Not a word. VC snipers