English 12 - Senior SeminarDue: June 6th (A) & June 7th (B)
Final Assignment from The Things They Carried
In groups of up to 4 students, choose 1 of the following projects:
- The Things Tim O’Brien Carried.
Read “The Man I Killed” and “Ambush.” Throughout our reading Tim O’Brien does not mention what he himself carries, however, we’ve come to learn what Tim holds on to. Identify what Tim carries with him from these two chapters plus our other readings and why he feels the need to hold on to them. They can be tangible things or intangible, as long as you can explain the significance of the items. (1½-2 pages typed, MLA format)
- Motif Quote and Video
Choose one of the following quotes listed below and analyze a short video clip of your choosing that captures the essence of the motif or theme. You will need to include written analysis of your video’s content, cinematic elements, context of the quote, and motif (1½ - 2 pages typed MLA format). Please submit this assignment electronically with a link to the video..
●Pg. 21: “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing - these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight.”
●Pg 37: “The average age in our platoon, I’d guess, was nineteen or twenty, and as a consequence things often took on a curiously playful atmosphere, like a sporting event at some exotic reform school. The competition could be lethal, yet there was a childlike exuberance to it all.”
●Pg 56: “What would you do? Would you jump? Would you feel pity for yourself? Would you think about your family and your childhood and your dream and all you’re leaving behind? Would it hurt? Would it feel like dying? Would you cry, as I did?”
●Pg 80: “But in truth war is also beauty. For all its horror, you can’t help but gape at the awful majesty of combat.”
●Pg 177: “In the field, though, the causes were immediate. A moment of carelessness or bad judgment or plain stupidity carried consequences that lasted forever.”
●Pg 230: “The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head. There is the illusion of aliveness.”
- Illustrate a Scene.
Illustrate a significant scene from the book and write an explanation of the significance (1½ - 2 pages typed, MLA format). You need to identify the details from the text that you chose to capture as well as explain any creative details you interpreted from the text. It may be any of the following artistic approaches:
●single, full page illustration,
●a 3-6 panel sequence, comic book or storyboard style.
●a series of photographs you’ve taken
Your art does not need to be high level art -- but it must convey the significant meaning of the scene. I need to SEE the theme in the depiction.
- Write your own Short Chapter to add to the book.
There are quite a few short, but meaningful chapters in the book. Read one of these chapters and continue the story further from the perspective of one of the characters. Make sure to focus on a specific topic or theme. (1½-2 pages typed, MLA format)
●Enemies(p. 62-64) – This chapter is about the stress of conflict between two fellow soldiers.
●Friends (p. 65-66) - This chapter is about the strength of friendships formed in war.
●Stockings (p. 117-118) – This chapter is about a soldier’s and his good luck charm.
●Church (p. 119-123) - This chapter tells the story of soldiers crossing paths with monks.
●Ambush (p. 131-134) – This chapter tells the story of theeffects of taking an enemy’s life.
●Style (p. 135-136) – This chapter tells the story of a girl dancing among thedeath and destruction.
●Good Form (p. 179) – This chapter is a reflection of the author on the different “truth” in his writing.
- Create a Soundtrack.
You need to create the ultimate song playlist for reading and studying The Things They Carried or perhaps the soundtrack for a film version. However, you cannot use songs from the time period of the Vietnam War because that’s been done to death in every Vietnam movie ever. Select 5 songs from 1975 forward and write a paragraph explaining how each song enhances or supports one of the following themes or plot lines of the book. Be sure to use textual evidence from the book as well as reference to the lyrics, tone, style, or musical instruments from your songs. (1½ - 2 pages typed, MLA format)
Motifs and Themes●Courage / Cowardice
●Loss of Innocence due to war
●Guilt and Blame
●Burden
●Fear
●Death
●Love and Friendship
●Truth in War / Truth in stories / Plot Lines
●Deciding to draft dodge or go to war while on the Rainy River
●Having your best friend step on a landmine while playing a game of catch
●Mary Anne Bell becoming a “greenie”
●Letting go of Kiowa’s boot and watching him slide away (“Speaking of Courage” and “In The Field”)
●Norman Bowker’s Suicide
●The Man I Killed
- Cast the Film Version.
You’re producing a film version of The Things They Carried and you are in the process of casting actors in the roles. Select 5 actors to play 5 of the following characters. You will need to write a paragraph explaining why. Make sure to identify the key characteristics of the character through examples and/or textual evidence. Also, you must explain your actor selection by referencing other movie roles that are similar to the key characteristics you identified. However, you may not choose any actors who have already played a role in a well-known Vietnam movie. (1½ - 2 pages typed, MLA format)
●1st Lt. Jimmy Cross●Ted Lavender
●Elroy Berdahl
●Curt Lemon
●Rat Kiley / ●Mark Fossie
●Mary Anne Bell
●Norman Bowker
●Kiowa / ●Mitchell Sanders
●Azar
●Henry Dobbins
●Tim O’Brien