The Things They Carried

Chapter 10-12 Discussion

Wesley

May 19, 2017

Chapter 10: “Stockings”

1. Why did Henry Dobbins continue to carry his girlfriend’s stocking even after she broke up with him?

2. Consider the comparison O’Brien makes between Dobbins and America. Does O’Brien like America? Does he respect it?

Chapter 11: “Church” 

1. What was Kiowa’s reaction to setting up camp in a pagoda? Why? How does this differ with Dobbin’s conception of faith/religion/spirituality?

2. What is the meaning of the washing motion of the younger monk? Is it the same when Dobbins does it?

3. The image of the monk cleaning an M-60 is incongruous and jarring. What purpose does it serve in the story?

Chapter 12: “The Man I Killed”

1. How did the narrator react to the fact that he killed another human being? What evidence in the story leads you to this conclusion?

2. This story describes fairly intimate aspects of the dead man’s life. Where do these details come from? How can Tim O’Brien know them? What is going on here?

Homework: “Style” and “Ambush” Due for Monday, May 22, 2017