“Night Life”
- Explain the term “night life”. How is this term used in the last line of the story?
- How does night life affect the men in the platoon? How does it affect Rat Kiley?
- What evidence of desensitization can you find in this story?
“The Lives of the Dead”
- Why do the men shake hands with the dead villager?
- Why does the “awesome act of greeting the dead” bother Tim (214)? Does he ever get over being bothered by it?
- What reason does Tim give Kiowa on page 215 for not shaking hands with the man? Can you make a connection between this reason and one of the major themes of the book?
- Why does Tim’s mother give him a “hard look” after his comment about Linda’s red cap (217)?
- Consider the section between the page breaks on pages 218-219. What is the point of this section? How does the conversation between Sanders and “Lavender” support this point?
- Why do you think Linda smiles during the most gruesome parts of the movie she watches with Tim?
- In what way is Tim a coward in the story he tells about Linda on page 221?
- What transpires in the “conversation” between Linda and Tim on page 223?
- How do the men use language and stories to cope with death?
- Consider the paragraph that begins after the page break on page 229. O’Brien writes: “I never shook hands—not that—but one afternoon I climbed a tree and threw down what was left of Curt Lemon. I watched my friend Kiowa sink into the muck along the Song Tra Bong. And in early July, after a battle in the mountains, I was assigned to a six-man detail to police up the enemy KIAs.” How might the details that follow the pivot “but” related to the fact that Tim never shook hands with the dead?
- According to Tim, what is the “magic of stories” (231)?
- Why does Tim write stories?
- Why do you think O’Brien chose to end this book with a story (Linda’s) that does not take place in or during the war?
approximation, n. (222)
translucent, adj. (222)
