ENGL 102 – Interview of a Character from The Things They Carried: pp. 85 - 161

With your group you are going to conduct a mock interview of one of the major characters in the novel The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien, Henry Dobbins, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mary Anne, or Mark Fossie are some suggestions).  Pretend you are a reporter for your local news paper and your assignment is to interview and report on one of these characters from the play.  Follow the guidelines listed below.

1. Think about your character and make a list of his or her personality traits, behaviors and  actions in the play, or any other characteristics you can think of.
2. What do you already know about this character from your reading and what more would you like to know that might not be directly stated in the book.  You could use your journal questions to guide you in this part of the activity.
3. With that in mind, and based on specific actions of the character, make a list of 6 – 8 questions you would ask this character if you had an opportunity to interview him or her.
4. Analyze how the character might respond to your question based on the content of the novel and the character’s traits or behaviors as they are portrayed in the novel.
5. You must also use direct quotes from your character where appropriate to help support the answers you create to the questions you ask.

You and your group will share your interview with the entire class.


In the space below, make a list of character traits and behaviors:






Make a list of the quotes you used from the novel and the page numbers on which they can found.