Last Week Before Finals

1. The "back story" and "outlook" for your character is NOT due today; it is due THURSDAY - 12/5/2013

2.  Make sure you're aware of when your class will have its final exam

3. They haven't disappeared, and yes, you will get them back.  (Vague pronouns used deliberately.)

4. We need to finish up character analysis today (as much as possible)

5. We need to focus on theme in The Things They Carried on Wednesday.

To explain . . . one more patient time . . . THEME in literature refers to the main idea about life that the book/short story/poem reveals. Theme is usually indirect and while it permeates the book, it is not something that one can simply "pull out" and place in a "fill in the blank" quiz. As Tim O'Brien says, theme is like a "thread" that runs through the work; you can't "tease" it out. The characters and their actions reveal the various themes in this novel. It is a character-driven novel, not a plot-driven novel. The focus is not what will happen next; rather, the focus is who are these men, how do they react to these circumstances and what happens to them. 

Themes . . . will most likely be the focus of the essay topics for the final--but to illustrate how theme is revealed, you MUST be familiar with the men of Alpha Company.

For example . . . why is storytelling important? What do stories do, according to Tim O'Brien? Who are the storytellers? What do all the storytellers have in common? What's the difference between "happening truth" and "story truth"?

For example . . . O'Brien, Norman Bowker, and Jimmy Cross are all haunted by memories. Bowker and O'Brien are especially guilt ridden by memory--but there are other soldiers who cannot forget, as well. What do they remember? How is truth different from memory? How do stories connect memory to the present?

For example . . . For all its horror, cruelty, and brutality, war is equally beautiful, according to the narrator of "How to Tell a True War Story." In fact, paradox run through this novel, not just this story, though there are abundant examples in this particular story. What are they? What are other paradoxes that exist in the story--for instance, in the midst of chaos and misery, random death and violence, how common is it to find men playing--and enjoying--a nightly game of checkers? Why is this a fitting paradox. How paradoxical is it, too, to find 19 year-old men who are more afraid to be seen a coward than to be seen dead? Remember Curt Lemon and the dentist.

For example . . . How paradoxical is it that courage and cowardice go hand and hand? How ironic, true, and paradoxical (yep, all three) that Tim O'Brien, soldier, considers himself a coward for going to war?  Why do the men of Alpha Company understand Rat Kiley's decision to shoot himself in the foot and choose not to deride him for his action?