1. What literary genres do you notice in TTTC? Which dominates? That is, if you had to shelve it at Borders, where would you shelve it?
2. What are your attitudes and expectations about such genres of literature? When you read them, what do you look to gain?
3. To what extent is O'Brien giving you what you expect from a certain genre? To what extent is he thwarting your expectations? Why is he doing so?
4. Is there something about the Vietnam War that prevents it from being claimed by a specific genre? WWI produced some of the great poetry of the 20th century; WWII, an array of novels; our own Iraq War has produced numerous memoirs. What is it about the Vietnam War that makes it almost demand treatment through a number of genres?
5. Towards what genre do you gravitate when you read TTTC? Why? What does this say about your tastes and expectations as a reader?
6. Which chapters in TTTC have most disappointed your expectations? Why? What have you done to engage with these chapters?
7. Why did O'Brien title his book The Things They Carried? Why didn't he name the collection after another story in it? If you could choose a different story's title for the title of the collection, which would you choose, and why?
8. What characterizes a work of fiction? Plot? Dialogue? Descriptions of setting? What characterizes a work of ‘nonfiction'? Its subject matter? Its tone? Do the two genres share characteristics? Which? Which of these characteristics are present in TTTC?
9. Think for a moment of the different nonfiction books you have read in your lifetime: biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, histories, etc. How have these differed from TTTC? What characteristics, if any, do they share?