The Things They Carried

Chapter 17: Analysis Questions

While reading the chapter, focus on the elements of craft commonly found in prose literature,
while also using the following questions to help guide your analysis and annotations. Then
answer each of the following questions in at least 3-4 concise sentences.

DO NOT RESEARCH THESE ONLINE!

CHALLENGE YOUR INTELLECT AND DO THE WORK YOURSELF!

1. Briefly examine the feelings of each character following the death of Kiowa, supporting your
analysis with a direct quote for each. Then discuss the theme that O’Brien conveys through this
use of characterization:

A. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross:

Cross feels terribly upset about the death of Kiowa, even if he realizes it was not directly
his fault like the death of Lavender was. After Kiowas’s body is found, Jimmy Cross
spends “a long while… floating” in the much, mentally escaping into a world in which he
is playing golf and not having to deal with the tragedies he is currently facing (O’Brien
114). This shows his upsetness because it is the main reason why he feels that he has to
cope with his anger and sadness.

B. The unnamed young man:

The unnamed young man is more worried about the loss of his picture rather than the loss
of his squadmate, which he knows he had a major part of. He “seemed to be chasing some
creature just beyond reach”, however, he was doing so in a completely different area of the
field than the rest of the soldiers (O’Brien 108). The unnamed soldier believes that this is
the part of the field where he and Kiowa took mortar fire and so his picture must be in this
area as well, not caring about finding the body of Kiowa.

C. Azar:
Azar at first finds the loss of Kiowa humorous as a way to cope, by dropping one-liners
such as “biting the dirt so to speak” (O’Brien 105). While this is not reflective of how Azar
truly felt, it is his method to cope with the loss of his dear friend. However, we see Azar
change throughout this chapter, becoming somber and more in touch with his true feelings
of the matter. When Bowker asks him sarcastically to crack another joke after they uncover
Kiowas’ body, Azar just shakes his head and solemnly says “No joke” (O’Brien 111).

D. Norman Bowker:
Bowker feels serious and saddened by the death of Kiowa from the start, telling Azar to
“zip it” as soon as he starts cracking jokes. Bowker is also slightly angry at the death of
Kiowa, which he takes out on Azar later in the chapter once he has become more sorry,
continuing to goad him after Azar apologizes.
 E. Theme Statement:
Through the characterization of these characters, O’Brien attempts to show the reader that
blame is not necessarily something rational and is often experienced by people who were
simply present and could not have done anything or different to change the situation.

2. Hopefully you were able to successfully infer that the unnamed young man is O’Brien
himself. Discuss his intentional decision in writing the story from a third-person point of view
and providing anonymity for his character:
By writing in a third-person point of view, O’Brien allows the reader to better understand the
crazed state of mind he was in by having Cross observe from an outward perspective what he
was doing and how he was acting. This chapter was also written in the third person point of view
to better show the experience of all the characters present and not just a few. By writing from this
point of view, O’Brien is able to make the scene more emotionally charged as the reader feels the
emotions of all present. By providing anonymity for his character, O’Brien attempts to tell the
reader that despite it physically being him, he is completely different emotionally and mentally
now.

3. Identify a Global Issue in this chapter and support it with a brief explanation and a direct
quote:
Politics, Power, and Justice: Jimmy Cross’s orders to camp on the embankment that even he
believes to be unsafe relate back to this global issue due to the intense blame that Cross feels
even though the death of Kiowa is more related to the power of his command rather than himself.
This chapter also relates to justice and what is fair or not fair. Cross believes that the death of
Kiowa was “a crime”, which, although lacking more specific details, does tell the reader that
Cross believes the death of Kiowa to be unjust (O’Brien 104).

4. Choose your own adventure! Identify a theme or element of craft other than what has already
been discussed and thoroughly explore O’Brien’s intentions. Please support your analysis with a
direct quote.
One element of the author’s craft that O’Brien uses in this chapter is the callback to the first
chapter wherein Cross lets a man died due to his preoccupation with pictures. In this chapter, the
death of Kiowa happens due to the unnamed soldier “showing Kiowa a picture of his girlfriend”
and then turning on his flashlight, resulting in the Vietnamese knowing where to fire mortar shots
(O’Brien 108). This repetition of similar situations in both the first chapter and now was
purposefully introduced by O’Brien to reemphasize the message that even the smallest mistakes
can lead to the death of others.