Tercero de Bachillerato
AMERICAN SCHOOL OF QUITO
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL SECTIONS
STUDY GUIDE – 1st QUIMESTER EXAMS
Name of teacher: ______Philip Dixon______
Grade: ______12th grade / Tercero de Bachillerato____ Parallel: ___A,B,D,E,I______
Subject: ______Language and Literature______
Topics/Concepts:
Meta-fiction and Bias in the Media
The Things They Carried
Alternative Media
Peer Editing and Self- Editing strategies
Literary Analysis
SAT vocabulary words
Rhetoric
Affinity
Aloof
Alleviate
Altruistic
Ambiguous
Adamant
Benevolence
Collusion
Connoisseur
Concede
Candid
Contemptible
Crass
Discord
Dogma
Dwindle
Denounce
Discard
Deceitful
Divergent
Dubious
Epitome
Facetious
Facet
Ferocity
Finesse
Forte
Gait
Glimpse
Grimace
Incompetence
Infallible
Inane
Imminent
Impunity
Incompetence
Key Terms:
spin, bias, metaficiton,story truth vs. happening truth, paradox, imagery, metaphor, irony, theme, ethics, audience, purpose, audience, motif, genre, style, direct vs. indirect characterization, structure, paradox, allusion, diction, allegory, direct vs. indirect characterization
Exam Format:
Part 1 Vocab. 30 words – matching from the 40 words above (15%)
Part 2 Multiple Choice Questions based on The Things They Carried and Macbeth powerpoint
(15%)
Part 3 Short-answer questions based on media bias and The Things They Carried (see questions and rubric below) (30%)
Part 4 Non-fiction unseen text analysis – similar to the analysis ‘pyramids’ (40%)
Resources:
The Things They Carried
Class notes
wikispaces: http://langlitquito.wikispaces.com/
Observations: We will review the topics and go over the types of questions prior to the examination. Be sure you come to class with all your materials (notes, text, diagrams, past assignments).
Part 2:
TTTC Study Guide Questions
**These questions will be multiple choice questions on the exam**
“The Things They Carried”
- What is the meaning of the title of this FIRST story in the collection?
- List at least 5 main characters. Include the literal and figurative things they carry and WHY they carry these things.
- What would you say the mood of this story is (try to pick a word or a few words) and why? DO NOT use words like “depressing” or “sad”—try to tie the emotional feeling to something more ingrained in the story’s action. Reread the beginning and the end of the story for some ideas.
“Love”
- What kind of person is Jimmy Cross? What kind of person is Martha?
- What do you make of the Bonnie and Clyde allusion here? (It’s the movie they saw on their date—if you don’t know the story, look it up)
- What does the ending mean? (there are more than one right answer)
“Spin”
- Note the first-person aside by O’Brien on p. 31 (“I’m forty-three…”). What is the significance of this paragraph? Note that this sentence or variations of it appear later in the story (and throughout the book).
“On the Rainy River”
- When O’Brien receives his draft notice, what does he do?
- Why does O’Brien consider himself a coward for going to Vietnam?
“How to Tell a True War Story”
- Write down elements of what O’Brien considers a “true” war story.
“Good Form”
- What is the difference between “story truth” and “happening truth” for O´Brien?
What stories can do, I guess, is make things present.
I can look at things I never looked at. I can attach faces to grief and love and pity and God. I can be brave. I can make myself feel again…
“‘Daddy, tell the truth,’ Kathleen can say, ‘did you ever kill anybody?’ And I can say, honestly, ‘Of course not.’ Or I can say, honestly, ‘Yes.’”
(O’Brien 180).
- Is there a paradox inherent in the text? If so, what is the paradox? If not, why?
- According to O’Brien, what is the purpose of storytelling?
“The Lives of the Dead”
- In the first few lines of the story and throughout the story, what phrases repeat from earlier in the book?
- - What does O’Brien note about the nature of stories in the section on pp. 218-219?
- What does Linda say about herself not being dead? What does she compare herself to?
- Why does ice-skating work as an image in this story? Look closely and relate it to other images in this book. What new meaning is given to this image?
Part 3 The Things They Carried and Media Bias Short Answer 30 points
Suggested time: 20 minutes
Choose the ONE of the questions below to respond to in one complete paragraph (200-400 words) using at least one literary term correctly and at least one reference to a text. Your response will be graded on the following criteria: a.Correctly uses your key term 5 points b.Grammatically correct 5 points c.Uses specific example(s) from the text - TTTC or any Vietnam non-fiction text (at least ONE direct quote) 8 points d.Answers the question 8 points e. Follows directions 4 points
A. One of the goals of the Vietnam War was to “win the hearts and minds of the people.” What does this mean? How did the US attempt to do this?
B. One way that the Vietnam War was unique is the fact that it was the first televised war. What effect does the medium of television have on its viewers? How did television shape public opinion towards the war?
C. “The Man I Killed” is the only story that focuses primarily on a Vietnamese character. Why does this shift in focus occur in this particular story? Why are Vietnamese characters largely absent from the rest of the text?
D. Although the work is supposedly about the Vietnam war, the final story focuses not on the war but on an episode from O’Brien’s childhood. Discuss how this story relates to the stories of the war. What is O’Brien’s purpose in ending his collection of stories this way?
E. What do the terms “story-truth” and “happening-truth” mean in the context of the book? How do they differ?
F. Although The Things They Carried contains a story called “The Man I Killed,” it is unclear whether O’Brien actually killed anyone in Vietnam. What purpose does this ambiguity serve?
G. How does shame fit into O’Brien’s portrayal of the war experience?
H. Discuss the structure of the work. Do the stories progress in a linear manner? How does the work’s fragmented style contribute to the themes that run through the stories?
I. Discuss how O´Brien uses imagery.