The Things They Carried​ by Tim O’Brien 

AoE: Time & Space 
IB English HL 1 
 
The  purpose  of  this  assignment  is  to increase your schema in order to help you understand the 
nuances  of  the  historical  and  cultural  allusions  and  context  within  the  novel.  Your  goal  is  to 
explore each topic through online articles and videos as a form of investigative research.  

The Politics Shrouding the Vietnam War 

 
First, watch these two video clips that show REAL footage from 
soldiers in the war and political and social experiences in America: 
● History’s Vietnam in HD Trailer 
  ● Vietnam Introduction 
 
1. What seemed to be the director’s purpose in juxtaposing 
scenes of war with a few scenes of American life in the first 
video?  
The purpose was to show that these were just common citizens 
going out to the fight, they lived normal lives just like anyone else 
and the director wanted to capture that idea.He was also trying to 
promote the end of the war and what American life would look like 
afterwards. 
 
2. Pay close attention to J.F.K.’s opening speech in the second 
video. Summarize why the U.S. entered the war, according to 
the president.  
According to the president the U.S. entered the war to help stop the 
spread of communism in Vietnam since the citizens freedom in 
South Vietnam was at stake. 
 
3. What images, details, or themes affected you the most while 
watching the videos?  
The details that affected me the most included soldiers having to 
carry fellow wounded or deceased men because personally I know I 
would carry the burden of feeling like I could have helped save them 
in that instance. 
 
Next, visit the ​BBC website​ and read their unbiased analysis of the 
U.S. and Vietnam conflict. Then answer the following questions in 
bullet points: 
 

 
 

1. After reviewing the article (primarily Reasons 3-5), summarize 

the three main reasons the U.S. entered the war (​Reason #3 is 
particularly important​!): 
- The domino theory due to the fact that the U.S. believed that if 
one country fell to communism a neighboring country would 
too, creating a chain of libertiless countries. 
- The South’s Vietnamese weak leader pushed President J. F. K 
to send military advisors out there to help out. 
- The U.S. The Navy was also attacked by North Vietnam in the 
Gulf of Tonkin giving the U.S. a true reason to fight with the 
South. 
 
2. After reviewing ​Page 3​ of the BBC article, summarize four or 
five reasons that America “lost” the war--and made the rest of 
the world hate us: 
- Unpopular military tactics, specifically airborne, that were 
harsh and lacked sensitivity. 
- Operation trail dust that used harmful chemicals in order to 
clear out foliage, which worked, but it stuck to humans and 
animals as well causing terrible injuries. 
- Strategic hamlets: barbed wire fences used in order to keep 
Vietcong from hiding in the south, but also hindered civilians 
from going to ancestral burial grounds and their farms. 
- Operation rolling thunder in which Americans attempted to 
bomb North Vietnam's troop and weapon supply camps, but 
with the lack of industrial targets the bombs often missed their 
targets, hitting hospitals and schools instead. 
 
3. Move on to ​Page 4​ and summarize another three reasons why 
the Vietcong “won” the war, despite being extremely 
outgunned:  
- Guerrilla warfare was used at the North’s advantage due to 
previous uses and was the art of landscape knowledge allowing 
the avoidance of open battle and surprise attacks.  
- The foreign support of the soviet union and China who 
supplied weapons and money became a large asset to the 
North. 
- The north also had several underground tunnels and traps 
stretching over 200 miles housing thousands of individuals 
along with hospitals, armouries, kitchens, sleeping quarters, etc. 
 
4. Then, after reading P
​ age 5​, bullet point at least five reasons 
that the US faced opposition from its own citizens: 

 
 

- Media coverage  
- Draft opposition  
- Opposition of the South Vietnamese Government 
- Opposition from Civil rights movement  
- Opposition to Youth  
- Pacifists 
 
5. Last, skim the introductory section of this H
​ istory article​. 
Describe TWO things that shock you: 
Five different Presidents advised Vietnam and they include Kennedy, 
Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Johnson. The end of WW2 brought 
the U.S. broad popularity throughout Vietnam with their success in 
repelling Japanese occupiers. 
 
“Live and Let Die” & “Give Peace a Chance” 
 
The Vietnam War officially took place between the years of 1955 and 
1975, which encompassed the 1960’s era of ​Counterculture​ and the 
Civil Rights Movement. It is historically known as one of the most 
  tumultuous and divisive decades in U.S. history!   
 
Watch this short ​Carnegie Hall video​ and, after doing so, address the 
meaning of the commentators final quote: “If you don’t look at the 
history of today through the lens of the 1960’s, then you can’t really 
understand it.”  
I think their meaning was to show just how vital this historical shift 
was for the United States with its information on civil movements, 
social issues, and rising prevalent activists. 
 
We definitely can’t discuss the 1960’s without delving a little into the 
hippie culture, so please watch the quick ​Hippies Change a 
Generation video​ and summarize THREE new attitudes that this 
generation brought to American culture: 
This generation brought peace symbols, long hair and stoner speech 
patterns involving marijuana. The hippie culture advocated 
communal living, scorned the work ethic and embraced eastern 
religions and philosophies. 
 
Next, listen to the Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969’s song, 
“Fortunate Son”​, and explain the main theme of their lyrics in the 
context of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War: 
The main theme of their lyrics in the context of America’s Vietnam 

 
 

War involvement was to explain how they opposed being drafted 

into the war because of their lack of wealth and fortune compared to 
others. 
 
If you have good taste in music and are craving some more 60’s 
protest songs, here are a few to enjoy:  
● Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” 
● John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” 
● Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” 
● The Animal’s “House of the Rising Sun” 
● Phil Ochs’ “What are you fighting for?” 
Step into the Shoes of a U.S. Soldier: 
The Draft & A Soldier’s Life in Vietnam 
 
Visit the E
​ ncyclopedia​ site and skim through the titled sections to 
answer the following questions: 
   
1. In the first section, titled “The American Soldier in Vietnam,” 
describe at least four common reactions that soldiers 
experienced due to extreme fear and frustration: 
The lack of field knowledge on Vietnam soil and rural communities 
sparked a sense of vulnerability in the U.S. soldiers. Their lack of trust 
also led to fear and anxiety along with pure frustration over U.S. war 
strategies. This further caused a violent lash out against the 
Vietnamese and their own military leaders. 
 
2. In the second and third sections that describe the draft, how 
many men were ultimately selected to serve in the war? And 
what type of men were primarily targeted?  
Around ⅓ of the American troops were selected for military service 
and primarily men who were between the ages of 18 and 26 were 
targeted. 
 
3. Scan the next two sections, titled “Combat Soldier’s 
Experience” and “Boredom and Terror,” and bullet point four 
reasons YOU definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be drafted: 
- Traveling for days or weeks straight carrying the extremely 
heavy packs packed with necessities. 
- Barely any opportunities to enjoy a hot meal or even clean 
themselves. 
- Anxiety was heightened on the battlefield with their life being 
put on the line in a second when they thought they were 

 
 

secure.  
- The environments they were in that included thick wet fields 
and monsoon attacks.  
 
4. Skim through the remainder of the article and describe TWO 
other pieces of information that you find important: 
U.S. bombing missions and/or combat patrols destroyed thousands 
of villages and the effort made by Americans to stop the communist 
takeover went unappreciated by some South Vietnamese citizens. 
 
Tim O’Brien’s Biography 
 
Meet Tim O’Brien (yes, another w​ hite dude from Minnesota​), the 
U.S. soldier whose experiences in Vietnam form the basis of the 
novel. Review the following excerpts from the Chicago Public Library 
  and briefly explain TWO pieces of his bio that might be important to 
know before cracking the book:  
 
Award-winning author Tim O’Brien is best known for his fictional portrayals 
of the Vietnam conflict. He was born in 1946 in Austin, Minn., and spent 
most of his youth in the small town of Worthington, Minn. He graduated 
summa cum laude from Macalester College in 1968.  
 
From February 1969 to March 1970 he served as an infantryman with the 
U.S. Army in Vietnam, after which he pursued graduate studies in 
government at Harvard University. He worked as a national affairs reporter 
for ​The Washington Post​ from 1973 to 1974. 
 
“My life is storytelling,” O’Brien said in an interview in 1990. “I believe in 
stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, 
and the dead. And if I have started now to play with the stories, inside the 
stories themselves, well, that’s what people do all the time. Storytelling is 
the essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential it 
is. In Vietnam men were constantly telling one another stories about the 
war. Our unit lost a lot of guys around My Lai, but the stories they told stay 
around after them. I would be mad not to tell the stories I know.” 

O’Brien incorporates devastation and exemplifies hardship through 

true accounts in his novel giving deeper insight into their specific 
experiences and views to keep the warriors spirits alive. He was also 
part of the war allowing him to have his own personal insight.  
 
 

 
 

OPTIONAL: Here are a few critically-acclaimed films that explore the 

Vietnam War in more detail, if you’re interested. However, some 
scenes are R-Rated, so viewer discretion is advised: 
 
● Apocalypse Now 
  ● Good Morning, Vietnam 
● Forrest Gump