English Questions 2015 Essay

Submitted By HelenDeuchar
Words: 915
Pages: 4
Open Document
The things they carried worksheet:

Question One:
What is the significance of the title? What does it refer to? Explain with references to the text, especially the first chapter.

The significance of the title is the tone and vibe it has as well as the length. The title is four letters which is short, undescriptive and unspecific to what they carried physically or mentally. This draws the reader in as their own imagination kicks in and floods them with ideas of what they could’ve carried, they quickly become interested and eager to find out the truth. Reading the title “The Things They Carried” out loud sounds depressing and gives the reader that this isn’t going to be a happy-ever-after clichéd story. The tone also implies that there is going to be some kind of physical or mental struggle and pain. The word “carried” is a very boring word used for everyday and ‘chore like’ activities i.e. compulsory acts. It implies that they had no choice of what they carried and what they carried with them, they had to and couldn’t complain.

The title refers to the things they carried that could save them but consequently weighed a lot, causing strain on their bodies, “Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weighed 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded…. He carried between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition…” It also refers to the things that would weaken and torture them, the sights they witnessed that would rot inside them and would never fade from their memory.

Question Three:
“They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.” (pg 7) - explain what you think this quote means and how it links to/ relates to the title.

The first part if the quote, “they carried all they could bear,” explains how the soldiers physically pushed themselves to the limits, in terms of what their body-type could handle. It gives the reader an imagery of men with several things strapped around their torso, with a rucksack and both hands holding weapons of mass destruction. However some of the men may not have realized the type of harmful weaponry they would carry. They now they may disagree as they become aware of the potential power and destructions their weapons have, creating guilt and self-disgust within them – another burdensome thing to carry.

The second part of the quote, “and then some” implies the men carried more emotional baggage on top of their physical load. It also implies that the men have over stepped their mental capacity to handle emotionally traumatic experiences and now ‘brush it off’ and bottle their emotions within. The words “and then some” gives the reader the suspicion that the men are being modest and that there is more than a ‘silent awe’ that they carried. But because they are in a situation where you cannot complain or talk about what you witness and take part in, they have adapted to this style and keep it vague when talking about traumatic experiences.

The “silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” is the shock they felt when the men realized what they truly signed up by joining the war. They were exposed to the gruesome truth that they carried the lives of many innocent civilians – yet another troublesome thing they carried. The reason behind the ‘silent’ awe is
Show More

Related Documents: English Questions 2015 Essay

Structural Analysis Of Vietnamese Essay

Structural Analysis of the Vietnamese Language By Duane Godding The History and Orthography of the Vietnamese Language The history of the Vietnamese language has been divided into six different periods, namely the Pre-Vietnamese, Proto-Vietnamese, Archaic Vietnamese, Ancient Vietnamese, Middle Vietnamese, and Modern Vietnamese periods (p.1, Language Translation). For purposes of this assignment I will only briefly discuss each period. The Pre-Vietnamese period marks the time of the Muong language…

Words 1639 - Pages 7

A Case Summary: Case Study

and other non-English-speaking Chinese students. The defendant is the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Date and Place Where the Case Was Tried The case was tried on December 10, 1973 in a district court of San Francisco, California The Facts of the Case In 1971, a federal court decree required the San Francisco, California school system to integrate other races/ nationalities (The Public Broadcasting Service, 2015). According to the Public Broadcasting Service (2015), precisely 2,800…

Words 841 - Pages 4

Effective Teaching And Learning Reflective Essay

At the time studying English major in Vietnam, the term effective learning never came to me as a broad and deep perception. It was generally understood as how to perform best in each module and even with regard to the definition of effective teaching was not my major concern. As a less experienced teacher in teaching English field, the first idea on teaching and learning effectively is personally described as investing as much efforts as I can in both classrooms and social activities to activate…

Words 973 - Pages 4

Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition Essay

Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition Jonathan Ferrell Grand Canyon University: TSL-546 March 25, 2015 Comparing Primary and Secondary Language Acquisition One of the greatest achievements of mankind is the development of language. Communication between human beings unties individuals into a complex society where collaboration between individuals allows them to reach their full potential. The human brain plays a key role in the human’s ability to understand and use language. “Every…

Words 1594 - Pages 7

Essay on Curriculum Guide 100

that is aligned with specific educational subject. In this curriculum guide it will be addressing English/ Language Arts for Elementary school. The guide will provide objectives, Goals, Teacher activities/Strategies Student Activities. Along with different goals and strategies that can help struggling students with Emotional/ Behavioral Disorders and disabilities. English/Language Arts Objectives/ Goals Students will be able to understand: Retain the main idea of…

Words 771 - Pages 4

Essay Chapter 02 15th FIN

Richard Stroup, Russell Sobel, & David Macpherson Slides authored and animated by: James Gwartney & Charles Skipton Copyright ©2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible web site, in whole or in part. First page What Shall We Give Up? th 15 edition Gwartney-Stroup Sobel-Macpherson Copyright ©2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible web site…

Words 3369 - Pages 14

Essay on AP SynthPrompt Manning

Edwin Manning Ms. Evans AP Lang & Comp 8 February 2015 Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying eight sources. This question requires you to synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. When you synthesize sources you refer to them to develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect references. Introduction…

Words 1154 - Pages 5

Volunteer Information 2015 Essay

Wales 2015. PLEASE HELP US TO REACH OUR TARGET OF 100 VOLUNTEER POSTS FILLED FOR THE 2015 EVENT! To volunteer at the event, you will need to attend an induction on Tuesday 21st April at 6.30pm. The induction will be held at Galeri 3B, Priory Street, Wrexham. It is important that you attend this induction. The job descriptions for the volunteer posts we have available at this year's event are listed below. To help us select the right people for each role, please complete all questions within…

Words 477 - Pages 2

English Language and Composition Test Essay

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SECTION I Time­ 1 Hour Directions: This part consists of selections from prose works and questions based on their content, form, and style. After each passage, choose the best answer to each question and completely fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. Note: Pay particular attention to the requirement of questions that contain the words NOT, LEAST, or EXCEPT. Questions 1­11. Read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers…

Words 2831 - Pages 12

Essay about Slender Man Final

Chris Malandrakis Mrs. Prendergast English 9H-6 5 May 2015 A Violent Reality “Slender: The Eight Pages” is a computer game and Slenderman is the one and only character in the game besides the player. Even though it just a game, it has been linked to two teenage stabbings in the United States. The internet has seen many creations but not one that has been spawned from bits of images starting back in 2009, when Eric Knudsen created the out of focus image of a tall, dark man that needs to be satisfied…

Words 607 - Pages 3