"The Things They Carried" Blog Entry #1 -- Deadline Midnight 8/10

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READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY. THEN, CLICK ON THE "COMMENTS" LINK (the one with the pencil next to it) AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.

In this novel, the narrator repeats and returns to the same memories -- sometimes with whole stories, sometimes with just a paragraph or line. Go back to the novel and identify at least three of the memories that the narrator can't seem to stop remembering.

Bear in mind that the author of this novel CREATED a narrator who can't stop remembering (in other words, the memories are a TECHNIQUE that the author uses to help reveal his worldview). Which of the narrator's memories do you think is the most significant in helping us understand the author's view on the effects of war?

Explain your choice by showing us how the particular memory reveals the overall effects of the novel. As you answer, make sure you make reference to other stories or themes in the text.

Deadline: Midnight, 8/10/08.
Make at least three references to the text -- and respond to someone else's ideas -- in this entry.
Make sure you punctuate your thoughtful entries correctly.
Please do NOT go to other sources (like Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes, Some Random Site). We want to hear from you, not them.

"The Things They Carried," Entry #2 --Deadline Midnight 8/15

Each character in a novel helps create the overall impact and meanings of the novel. If there were no stepsisters in Cinderella, for example, think how the story would be less effective. If a story is well-done, then it "needs" all its characters to be effective.

In your opinion, which character, BESIDES the narrator, do you think the novel "needs" the most? In other words, which character, to your mind, has the most impact on helping us understand the overall effects and ideas in this novel?

Deadline: Midnight, 8/15/08.
Make at least three references to the text -- and respond to someone else's ideas -- in this entry.
Make sure you punctuate your thoughtful entries correctly.
Please do NOT go to other sources (like Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes, Some Random Site). We want to hear from you, not them.

"The Things They Carried" Entry #3 -- Deadline Midnight 8/20

Tim O'Brien, the author of this novel, considered many titles before he settled upon "The Things They Carried." If you had to retitle the text with only a line or phrase from one of the stories in the novel, which line or phrase would you choose?

Defend your choice of a new title by showing the rest of us why this title perfectly captures the themes and tone of the text. Make reference to at least three stories in the text and show how your idea for a title helps reveal the ideas and tones of the stories.

Deadline: Midnight, 8/20/08.
Make at least three references to the text -- and respond to someone else's ideas -- in this entry.
Make sure you punctuate your thoughtful entries correctly.
Please do NOT go to other sources (like Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes, Some Random Site). We want to hear from you, not them.

"The Things They Carried" Blog Entry #4 -- Deadline Midnight 8/25

After having read the entire novel, to what extent (meaning how much or how little) would you say that the ultimate, overall outlook of this text is optimistic about the futures of soldiers who have been to war? In other words, does the novel as a whole paint more of a hopeful or hopeless picture about the world of the Vietnam vet? Why do you say so?


Deadline: Midnight, 8/25/08.
Make at least three references to the text -- and respond to someone else's ideas -- in this entry.
Make sure you punctuate your thoughtful entries correctly.
Please do NOT go to other sources (like Sparknotes, Cliff's Notes, Some Random Site). We want to hear from you, not them.