m

Criterion A:
Outline
Does the
outline of the
written task
clearly
highlight the
particular
focus of the
task?

Criterion B: Response
to the question
-To what extent is an
understanding of the
expectations of the
question shown?
-How relevant and
focused is the response
to these expectations?
-Is the response
supported by wellchosen references to
the text(s)?

0= The work
does not reach a
standard
described by the
descriptors
below.

0= The work does not

reach a standard
described by the
descriptors below.

1= The
outline
partially
highlights
the particular
focus of the
task.

1-2= The student has a

superficial
understanding of the
expectations of the
question. Ideas are
frequently irrelevant
and/or repetitive. The
response is not
supported by references
to the text(s).
3-4= There is mostly
adequate understanding
of the expectations of
the question. Ideas are
generally relevant and
focused. The response is
supported by references
to the text(s).

2= The
outline
clearly
highlights
the particular
focus of the
task.

5-6= There is good

understanding of the
expectations of the
question. Ideas are
mostly relevant and
focused. The response is
mostly supported by
well-chosen references
to the text(s).
7-8= There is thorough
understanding of the
expectations of the
question. Ideas are
relevant and focused.
The response is fully
supported by wellchosen references to
the text(s).

Criterion C:
Organization and
argument
-How well organized
is the task?
-How coherent is the
structure?
-How well developed
is the argument of
the written task?
[Note: the word
length is 800-1000
words. If the limit is
exceeded, 2 marks
will be deducted]
0= The work does
not reach a standard
described by the
descriptors below.

Criterion D: Language
and style
-How effective is the use
of language and style?
-How appropriate to the
task is the choice of
register and style? (e.g.
elements such as
vocabulary, tone,
sentence structure and
idiom appropriate to the
task)

1= Little
organization is
apparent; the task
has little structure
and the argument
is poorly
developed.

1= There is little clarity,

with many basic errors;
little sense of register
and style.

2= Some
organization is
apparent; the task
has some
structure, although
it s not sustained.
The argument has
some
development.
3= The task is
organized, and the
structure is
generally coherent.
There is some
development of
the argument.

2= There is some
clarity, though
grammar, spelling and
sentence structure are
often inaccurate; some
sense of register, style
and appropriate
vocabulary.

4= The task is well

organized; the
structure is mostly
coherent and the
argument is clearly
developed.

5= The task is
effectively
organized; the

0= The work does not

reach a standard
described by the
descriptors below.

3= The use of language

and the style are
generally clear and
effective, though there
are some inaccuracies
in grammar, spelling
and sentence
construction; generally
appropriate in register,
style and vocabulary.
4= The use of language
and the style are clear
and effective, with a
good degree of
accuracy; sentence
construction and
vocabulary are varied,
showing a growing
maturity of style; the
register is appropriate.
5= The use of language
and the style are very
clear and effective, with

structure is
coherent and the
argument is
effectively
developed.

a very good degree of

accuracy; sentence
construction and
vocabulary are good;
the style is confident
and the register
effective.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien takes place during the Vietnam War. Throughout
most of the novel, the setting is in the jungles of Vietnam. However, The Things They
Carried is episodic in structure, so there are many smaller stories within the main one. While
most of them take place in the Vietnamese jungle, each story has its own unique setting. If not
different physical settings, then the social settings may vary quite a bit.
One of the stories within The Things They Carried is "On the Rainy River," starting on page
37. This is the story of Tim O'Brien deciding to run away from the Vietnam War, but then
deciding, once he'd thought it through, to face the fact that he had been drafted and head off
to war. While living with his parents in Worthington, Minnesota, O'Brien received a draft
letter in the mail the afternoon of June 17, 1968. The day that O'Brien decided to run away to
Canada, his emotional setting was changed drastically. "I remember packing a suitcase and
carrying it out to the kitchen, standing very still for a few minutes, looking carefully at the
familiar objects all around me. The old chrome toaster, the telephone, the pink and white
Formica on the kitchen counters. The room was full of bright sunshine. Everything sparkled.
My house, I thought. My life" (O'Brien 44). O'Brien's house would not cause much deep
thought under normal circumstances, I'm sure. However, since he believed that he was never
going to see his house again, he became aware of how important all of the trivial household
items truly were to him. A quote that I have heard many times before in songs and from other
people is "You never know what you have until it's gone."
For the story "Enemies," which starts on page 59, it is not the physical setting of the
Vietnamese jungle that is interesting, but the social setting between Lee Strunk and Dave
Jenson. These two characters got into a very trivial fight over a jackknife. After the fight had
concluded, Jenson's setting of rage toward Strunk changed to that of fear and paranoia. He
was always preoccupied because he thought that Strunk was going to try to get back at him
somehow. While Jenson's emotional state was changed, Strunk's was left untouched. "But in
the morning Lee Strunk couldn't stop laughing. 'The man's crazy,' he said" (O'Brien 61).
"Church," a story that begins on page 113, does not take place in a jungle, but an almost
abandoned pagoda in Vietnam. It is in this pagoda that the group of soldiers that O'Brien was
in made a base of operations. "The place was dark and cool, I remember, with crumbling
walls and sandbagged windows and a ceiling full of holes" (O'Brien 113). While the physical
setting for this particular story is different from most of the other stories, the social setting is
more interesting than a shabby pagoda. For whatever reason, the two monks that were living
in the pagoda took a liking to all of the soldiers, but Henry Dobbins in particular. "Squatting
quietly in the cool pagoda, they would help Dobbins disassemble and clean his machine gun,
carefully brushing the parts with oil. The three of them seemed to have an understanding.
Nothing in words, just a quietness they shared" (O'Brien 114). The monks and Dobbins
seemed to communicate with each other through their lack of a common communication
system.

At the end of The Things They Carried, O'Brien talks about his dreams of his deceased
girlfriend, Linda, and how these dreams were a way for him to escape the fact that she was
dead. "But back then it felt like a miracle. My dreams had become a secret meeting place, and
in the weeks after she died I couldn't wait to fall asleep at night. ... Once, I remember, we
[O'Brien and Linda] went ice skating late at night, tracing loops and circles under yellow
floodlights. Later we sat by a wood stove in the warming house, all alone" (O'Brien 231). As
seen from this quote, setting of stories don't necessarily have to be real places. They can be
dreams, worlds made up in the minds of individuals.
Though Vietnam has a long history of conflict over its independence from its founding in 208
B.C., U.S. involvement in the affairs of Vietnam began to crystallize during the final years of
World War II. At the Potsdam Conference, the Allied powers determined that Britain would
occupy Vietnam and force out Japanese troops occupying the area south of the sixteenth
parallel. After a summer of internal political unrest in Vietnam, in September 1945, British
forces arrived. Though Vietnam had long been a French colonial interest, the Vietnamese
resisted French influence and clamored for independence, even attempting to enlist the
United States' assistance. In early 1946, the French did assent to recognizing limited
Vietnamese independence and Ho Chi Minh as the leader of the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam. During that year, the Vietminh attacked French military forces and provoked the
French into war, in which the United States supported their French allies throughout the
Truman presidency. The French began to reassert their power over Vietnam, but the Chinese
and Soviet governments allied themselves with Ho Chi Minh.
Bao Dai, the leader of the French-recognized faction, also claimed that his party, and not
Minh's, had authority over the country. By 1950, the Truman administration had begun
sending American military advisors to Vietnam to support the French. Eventually, the United
States began lending financial support to France's war against Minh supporters. While
western nations were outlining such policies as those set forth by the Geneva Convention
(1954) and SEATO (1954), internal division within Vietnam continued to escalate. Fearing
the threat of the expanse of Communism throughout the Pacific Asian area, the United States,
during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, continued aiding the French, until the
number of U.S. military personnel deployed to Southeast Asia numbered nearly 20,000.
Under the Johnson administration, the U.S. destroyers Maddox and C. Turner Joy received
fire from North Vietnamese boats, and President Johnson reacted by ordering an aerial assault
of North Vietnam. Only a few days after this incident, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution, which extended to the president the necessary authority to conduct war, though
war was never officially declared.
Within months, the first combat-ready unit was deployed to U.S. Marines headquarters at Da
Nang in March, 1965. U.S. involvement continued to steadily increase, and by the close of
1967 over a million American troops were in Vietnam, despite the growing sentiment of the
American public to stop or withdraw from the war. The undeclared "war" eventually became
the United States' longest foreign policy engagement. After years of intense battle, the United
States withdrew the last combat troops from Vietnam in March 1973. More than 1.2 million
Americans served in the war; nearly 60,000 died in service.
The objective that the United States supported in short, preventing Vietnam from
becoming a communist foothold was never realized. In April 1975, Saigon surrendered to
the communist revolutionaries; the following year, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was
declared.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and "The Things They

Carried"
In the first short story The Things They Carry Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, of the Alpha
Company describes in detail the things the men in his company carry. For example, Lavender
(whose name is in fact quite ironic) carries marijuana and tranquilizers to calm himself down.
Other men carry other items which fit their physical description. However, this story also
pertains to the history of the Vietnam War. All the men also carry the emotional burdens
placed upon them by war. Most of the men we extremely young and inexperienced when it
came to combat. These man had little experience with death prior to war, and often found it
hard to rationalize the senseless killing, or the death of their fellow soldier. Because of these
horrifying experiences, many soldiers who fought in Vietnam now suffer from Post Traumatic
Stress disorder. PTSD was not discovered until after Vietnam. O'Brien does an excellent job
of illustrating the types of situations that would cause men to suffer from this ailment.
Furthermore, this texts enlightens the general public (though the stories are semi-fictional) to
PTSD.

My Khe: Home like Oasis?

My Khe, Vietnam is is a beach village on the east coast of Vietnam. It has became known by
the name China Beach as a place of relaxation for American soldiers during the war in
Vietnam. However, the scene O'Brien paints outside of the My Khe village in Ambush is
not a pleasant, relaxing one at all. In this story, O'Brien apparently throws a grenade at a man
who is walking out of the fog. The man is wearing an ammunition belt around his waist. The
setting of the story (outside My Khe) is important. It is heart wrenching for the reader to
watch O'Brien relive this memory, so close to an area that is known as an oasis for American
soldiers. This again relates to many soldiers' experiences arriving home. America should have
been a place where soldiers were celebrated and the could finally relax. However, many of
the men returning home were not welcomed. Referred to as baby killers and village rapers,
the men never can escape the memories of Vietnam that haunt them.

Village Burnings

In Style O'Brien and his company observe a Vietnamese girl dancing amongst the
wreckage and debris that was once her village. The village has been burned down by
American soldiers. Not only has the village been destroyed, but the girl's parents were also
burned to death. The most unfortunate part is that village burning occurred during the war.
For example, on March 16, 1968 The U.S. Army conducted a mass murder of 347 to 504
unarmed Vietnamese citizens. Most of them were civilians, and some of them were women
and children. Furthermore, some of the victims were sexually abused, tortured, beaten, or
mutilated after death. Historically, massacres like this show the ugly brutal side of war, and
the darkness of human nature. For the narrative, the burned village shows the men of Alpha
company that amidst grief and sorrow, there can also be joy.