While reading Soldier’s Home and the first chapter of Slaughterhouse Five, please consider the following questions and write down your answers:
- What, if anything, does each story have to say about the themes that are taken up in The Things They Carried?
- heroism / bravery / cowardice
- shame and social pressure
- guilt / confession / catharsis
- truth vs. fact ("story truth" vs. "happening truth")
- desensitization
- loss of innocence
- burdens
- What stance does the author of each story seem to take regarding the righteousness or validity of war? Do these authors tend to agree or disagree with Tim O’Brien’s position on war?
- What is the main point of each story? How does each story use detail and imagery to illustrate its point?
