Essential Questions 1 How can a persons decisions

Essential Questions • 1. How can a person's decisions and actions change his/her life? • 2. Is freedom ever free? • 3. What are the factors that move individuals to great sacrifice and what are the consequences? • 4. How does conflict influence an individual's decisions and actions?

• Communism- a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. – A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in while all goods are equally shared by the people. • Current Communist countries: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam

• • Vietnam Era 1954 -1975 French colonial rule until 1945 when Japan took over. Communist Ho Chi Minh takes control of north in 1941 Japan out after surrendering to Allies and France regain control again – Indochina War breaks out but ends in 1954 • US supports France to prevent communist rule • Viet. Cong attacks US warship Maddox in 1964, Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution • US sends troops to Vietnam in 1965

• 1968 -1971 sees a rise in US troops deployed to Vietnam – 16, 000 troops are committed in the beginning rises to 500, 000 at war’s peak • US not accustomed to guerrilla (little war) warfare • 1968 Johnson halts the bombing, peace talks in Paris • 1968 Johnson does not seek reelection, Nixon is elected • The draft is instituted • Antiwar sentiments engulf the US • US feels the heavy burden of the costs and lives lost

• In 1973 Nixon reduces the troops due to peace talks and in Jan. eventually withdraws the US – Turns responsibility over to the ARVN (Army Republic of Vietnam) • Communist party moves south and asserts control – South Vietnam surrenders on April 30, 1975 • Roughly 57, 605 American soldiers die, 303, 700 are wounded – Estimated 2 million Vietnamese die, including Viet. Cong and civilians

• “compulsory enrollment of persons for military or naval service; draft. ” • Every US male registers after 18 th b-day; required to carry draft card at all times • Birthday Lotteries in 1969 • Excused Reasons: – Married men with children – Criminal background or mental and physical disabilities – Conscientious objectors • Until 1971 college students can get deferment is enrolled full time and working toward a degree • If studying for the ministry

• The majority of resistance came from young people and college students • Protests erupt on college campuses nation wide – Rallies • Draft dodging and burning of cards • Many young men flee to Canada to escape going to Vietnam

• 2. 1 million Americans served in the war • Average to serve was 19– often from a lower income, less educated family • Vietnam War was called the “Working. Class War” • African Americans represent 11% of America’s population at the time, death rate in Vietnam was 22%

This book contains highly sensitive subject matter as well as violence, graphic descriptions of carnage, language, racist language, sexuality, the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, criticism of the US Military and foreign policy.

• Walter Dean Myers born August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, WV • Mother dies at 2, father struggles to feed his 8 children during The Depression • Half sister’s mother and new husband, Herbert Dean informally adopt Walter; bring to Harlem, NY • Attends Stuyvesant HS, one of the best public schools—admission is highly competitive. – Drops out at 15 and then again at 16 • Can’t afford college, falls into a gang—joins army to escape gang death threats • Army not what he expected, but allows him to escape Harlem • After Army begins to write, publishes children’s picture books and novels. • Today respected leading author of books for young adults and voice of the African American experience.

• • • Full Title: Fallen Angels Author: Walter Dean Myers Type of Work: Novel Genre: Coming-of-age, historical fiction, war fiction Time and Place Written: 1988 Jersey City, New Jersey Published: 1988 Narrator: 1 st Person Limited Setting (Time): several months in 1967 and 1968 Setting (Place): Vietnam Protagonist: Richie Perry

• 1. Richie Perry- narrator and protagonist, he is 17, just graduated and is from Harlem, NY. He is smart and ambitious but could not afford to go to college; joins the army to escape an uncertain future. • 2. Kenny- Richie’s younger brother. Kenny depends on Richie and sees him as a father figure. • 3. Harold “Peewee” Gates- Richie’s closest friend in Vietnam. Peewee copes with the fear and uncertainty of the war with comical bravado.

• 4. Lobel: a member of Richie’s squad. He is Jewish and possibly homosexual and he is the target of prejudice. Sides with the black soldiers. • 5. Captain Stewart: the commander of Richie’s company. Wants to be promoted to major, but his company needs to kill more Vietcong. He risks his men’s lives for his own ambition. • 6. Sergeant Simpson- the leader of Richie’s squad. He is near the end of his tour of duty. Warns Richie and other new soldiers not to get him killed because of their inexperience.

• 7. Lt. Carroll- leader of Richie’s platoon. Smart and sympathetic, he is well liked by his men. • 8. Corporal Brunner- ambitious soldier on Richie’s squad; a bully. • 9. Sergeant Dongan- officer who replaces Simpson. He is a racist and always places the black soldiers in the most dangerous positions during patrols.

• 10. Johnson- strong black soldier in Richie’s squad who proves to himself to be a born leader. • 11. Walowick- a slightly racist soldier in Richie’s squad who overcomes his prejudices as the bond among the squad members deepens. • 12. Brew- a devoutly religious soldier in Richie’s squad. • Mother, Monaco, Lt. Gearhart, Jamal, Jenkins

The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien

Who is Tim O’Brien? • He is from Worthington, Minnesota – Father fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa in WWII, which inspired him to write (maybe) • Spent most of college trying to ignore Vietnam—spent a lot of time protesting and at rallies. – Became Political Science major—accepted to Harvard School of Government when he got his draft notice • He was 22, thought to dodge by escaping to Canada, but thought more of how family and friends would think of him – Entered F. Lewis in August of 1968. Arrived in Vietnam in Feb of 1969. – He was wounded and returned a year later with Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Combat Infantry Badge. • 1990’s finally writes TTTC, it is a 22 lyrical and interrelated stories about Vietnam. • It’s honest and very specific. It discusses fiction and fact, and is full of commentary as well as memory. – Most of the stories come from O’Brien’s own experience, and guilt as well as fear of cowardice.

Key Facts • • • FULL TITLE · The Things They Carried AUTHOR · Tim O’Brien TYPE OF WORK · Collection of interconnected short stories GENRE · War stories; coming-of-age stories; memory stories TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · Massachusetts, late 1980 s DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION · 1990 NARRATOR · Tim O’Brien POINT OF VIEW · Most of the stories are told from the first person, but on several occasions, O’Brien uses the third person. SETTING (TIME) · Late 1960 s and late 1980 s SETTING (PLACE) · Primarily Vietnam, but also U. S. locations including Iowa and Massachusetts PROTAGONIST · Tim O’Brien MAJOR CONFLICT · The men of the Alpha Company, especially Tim O’Brien, grapple with the effects—both immediate and long-term—of the Vietnam War.

Important Men to Know • Tim O’Brien - O’Brien is a pacifist rationalizes his participation in Vietnam by concluding that his feelings of obligation toward his family and country are stronger influences than his own politics. When the war is over, he uses his ability to tell stories to deal with his guilt and confusion over the atrocities he witnessed in Vietnam. • Jimmy Cross - The lieutenant of the Alpha Company, who is responsible for the entire group of men. Cross is well intentioned but unsure of how to lead his men. • Mitchell Sanders - One of the most likable soldiers in the war. Sanders strongly influences the narrator, O’Brien. He is kind and devoted, and he has a strong sense of justice. • Kiowa - O’Brien’s closest friend a model of quiet, rational morality amid the atrocities of war. • Norman Bowker - A man who embodies the damage that the war can do to a soldier long after the war is over. • Henry Dobbins - The platoon’s machine gunner and resident gentle giant. Dobbins’s profound decency, despite his simplicity, contrasts with his bearish frame.

More Men to Know • Bob “Rat” Kiley - The platoon’s medic. O’Brien has great respect for Kiley’s medical prowess, especially when he is shot for a second time and is subjected to the mistreatment of another medic. Though levelheaded and kind, Kiley eventually succumbs to the stresses of the war and his role in it. • Curt Lemon - A childish and careless member of the Alpha Company • Ted Lavender - A young, scared soldier in the Alpha Company. He makes an appearance in the narrative, popping tranquilizers to calm himself while the company is outside Than Khe. • Azar - A soldier in the Alpha Company and one of the few unsympathetic characters in the work. Every time Azar appears, he is mean-spirited and cruel, torturing Vietnamese civilians and poking fun both at the corpses of the enemy and the deaths of his own fellow soldiers. He uses cruelty as a defense mechanism.

• 1. The Loss of Innocence: – The title of the book emphasizes theme of youth and innocence – The soldiers enter the war as naïve youths, war pushes them to become men – Childish ideals are gone; replaced with hard reality of what they witness – Their realizations that there is no right or wrong, there is no heroism, and there is no order destroy innocence

• 2. The Harsh Reality of War: – Richie only knows war from movies and stories that portray war as heroic and romantic – Richie believes that the smart, good, and cautious will survive – Soon learns that death is unfair and is a matter of chance

• 3. Moral Ambiguity of War: – Soldiers question who is the good guy and who is the bad guy – Question are they fighting for the right cause; are they on right side of the conflict – Eventually question the morality of war and its purpose – Richie is doubtful of America is truly helping the Vietnamese or causing more trouble

4. Physical and Emotional Burdens • The “[t]hings” of the title that O’Brien’s characters carry are both literal and figurative. – While they all carry heavy physical loads, they also all carry heavy emotional loads, composed of grief, terror, love, and longing. – Each man’s physical burden underscores his emotional burden. • Faced with the heavy burden of fear, the men also carry the weight of their reputations. – Although every member of the Alpha Company experiences fear at some point, showing fear will only reveal vulnerability to both the enemy and sometimes cruel fellow soldiers. • After the war, the psychological burdens the men carry during the war continue to define them. – Those who survive carry guilt, grief, and confusion, and many of the stories in the collection are about these survivors’ attempts to come to terms with their experience. • O’Brien shares the things he carries, his war stories, with us. His collection of stories asks us to help carry the burden of the Vietnam War as part of our collective past.

5. Fear of Shame as Motivation • O’Brien’s personal experience shows that the fear of being shamed before one’s peers is a powerful motivating factor in war. • He does not want to fight in a war he believes is unjust, but he does not want to be thought a coward. – What keeps O’Brien from fleeing into Canada is not patriotism or dedication to his country’s cause—the traditional motivating factors for fighting in a war— but concern over what his family and community will think of him if he doesn’t fight. • Fear of shame not only motivates reluctant men to go to Vietnam but also affects soldiers’ relationships with each other once there. • The stress of the war, the strangeness of Vietnam, and the youth of the soldiers combine to create psychological dangers that intensify the inherent risks of fighting. • O’Brien uses his characters to show that fear of shame is a misguided but unavoidable motivation for going to war.

Summary • At the bottom of your notes, summarize in 3 -4 sentences what you have learned about the Vietnam War, Walter Dean Myers, the characters, and themes of the novel.

QUICKIE QUIZ • 1. In what year did the US send troops to Vietnam? • 2. Who was the president during the peak of the war? • 3. Who is the protagonist of the novel? • 4. What is one of themes of the novel? • 5. Myers is considered the voice for who?