Experiencing and Reliving Vietnam
EXAM 100% Which best describes the sequencing of "Ambush"? It relates events in the exact order in which they occurred. It includes multiple flashbacks about a variety of events. It contains a narrative that is told within another narrative. It recounts the narrator's reflections of past experiences.
It contains a narrative that is told within another narrative.
Why might people lie or embellish the truth when telling a story? Check any of the boxes that you agree with. To avoid offending or upsetting the listener To make the story more interesting or exciting To exaggerate their own role in the event To downplay their own role in the event To draw the listener into their experience
To avoid offending or upsetting the listener To make the story more interesting or exciting To exaggerate their own role in the event To downplay their own role in the event To draw the listener into their experience
EXAM 100% The first paragraph of "Ambush" contains a conversation that takes place before the narrator killed a man in Vietnam. before the birth of the narrator's daughter. after the narrator's experiences in the Vietnam War. after the narrator told his daughter the truth about war.
after the narrator's experiences in the Vietnam War.
How does the frame-story structure create tension?
it shows how the speaker still struggles with the past in the present
Which of the following elements did you include in your answer? Check any of the boxes that apply. a comparison between short stories and free verse poetry Komunyakaa's use of poetic devices O'Brien's use of frame story and flashback a discussion of emotional truth an explanation of how both authors convey experiences related to Vietnam
select all
Which part of this passage is a flashback? the last two sentences the first four sentences the fifth and sixth sentences
the first four sentences
EXAM 100% In "Ambush," why does the author begin the passage in the present rather than during the war? to emphasize that he survived the event to create a feeling of tremendous loss to build tension within the story itself to illustrate the importance of the past
to build tension within the story itself
A white vet's image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine. I'm a window. He's lost his right arm inside the stone. —"Facing It,"Yusef Komunyakaa Which device is "I'm a window" an example of? simile ✔ metaphor personification The narrator sees the reflection of another veteran looking at the memorial. The narrator says, "He's lost his right arm / inside the stone." "Inside the stone" is a metaphor for X the experience the memorial ✔ the war.
✔ metaphor ✔ the war.
Which line signals the end of the narrative within the frame story? "He fell on his back. His rubber sandals had been blown off." "Even now I haven't finished sorting it out. Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't." "For me, it was not a matter of live or die. I was in no real peril." "None of it mattered. The words seemed far too complicated. All I could do was gape at the fact of the young man's body."
"Even now I haven't finished sorting it out. Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't."
Based on what you know about structure and sequence in this short story, why do you think the main character says, "This is why I keep writing war stories"? He wants to use writing to discover the truth about his experiences. He wants his daughter to hear true experiences of war. He wants people to know how bad war really is. He wants to explain why soldiers did what they had to do.
He wants to use writing to discover the truth about his experiences.
EXAM 100% Which lines from the poem "Facing It" best reflect the narrator's struggle between his desire to maintain control and the strong emotions that he feels? I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me I turn that way—I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial I touch the name Andrew Johnson;I see the booby trap's white flash. Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's wings cutting across my stare.
I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me
Tim O'Brien is the narrator of "Ambush," but the author (Tim O'Brien) does not actually have a daughter. How do you feel about this fact? It proves that the events in the story are not true. It makes the story more interesting. It does not matter one way or the other. It affects my opinion of the author. It makes me not trust the author.
It does not matter one way or the other.
EXAM 100% Which best describes a theme of both "Ambush" and "Facing It"? Even people who have experienced brutal events have hope for the future. Only by telling the truth can people be absolved of the guilt they feel. Soldiers were not given enough respect during the Vietnam War. War and violence leave a lasting impact on people, especially soldiers.
War and violence leave a lasting impact on people, especially soldiers.
EXAM 100% Which element is used in both "Ambush" and "Facing It" to create tension and conflict? the minimal use of descriptive words the addition of several fictional elements the conflicted thoughts of the narrators the insertion of frequent flashbacks
the conflicted thoughts of the narrators
I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way - the stone lets me go. —"Facing It," Yusef Komunyakaa Identify each line as simile, metaphor, or personification. "I'm stone. I'm flesh." simile ✔ metaphor personification "My clouded reflection eyes me / like a bird of prey" ✔ simile metaphor personification "the stone lets me go" simile metaphor ✔ personification
✔ metaphor ✔ simile ✔ personification
Why is a free verse poem an effective structure to present truth? Check all of the boxes that apply to "Facing It." Free verse allows the author to present his ideas without formal constraints. Free verse allows the reader to follow the true timeline of events. Free verse allows the speaker to convey an emotional experience through a poem. The events described are more likely to be true because poems present realistic events.
1. Free verse allows the author to present his ideas without formal constraints. 3. Free verse allows the speaker to convey an emotional experience through a poem. Explanation:
My black face fades,hiding inside the black granite.I said I wouldn'tdammit: No tears.I'm stone. I'm flesh. —"Facing It," Yusef Komunyakaa All I could do was gape at the fact of the young man's body. Even now I haven't finished sorting it out. Sometimes I forgive myself, other times I don't. —"Ambush," Tim O'Brien How do the authors use structure in these passages to create conflict and tension? Check all of the boxes that are correct. Both authors create tension and conflict in the confusing thoughts they experience. Both authors express true emotional tension through fiction. Both authors create tension by using few words to depict action. Both authors convey the effects of the Vietnam War on those who experienced it.
Both authors create tension and conflict in the confusing thoughts they experience. Both authors convey the effects of the Vietnam War on those who experienced it.
The author Tim O'Brien has sons. If he wrote about a son asking his father if he had ever killed anyone, would the emotional impact of the story change? Why or why not? If Tim O'Brien had written a story about a son asking his father if he had ever killed anyone, the emotional impact would not change because the relationship between the son and father is the same as between a daughter and father. Both relationships are a child to a parent, so the emotional impact should be just as strong.
If Tim O'Brien had written a story about a son asking his father if he had ever killed anyone, the emotional impact would not change because the relationship between the son and father is the same as between a daughter and father. Both relationships are a child to a parent, so the emotional impact should be just as strong.
What did you include in your response? It does not matter whom he is telling. Father/daughter relationships are unique. Father/son relationships are unique.
It does not matter whom he is telling.
Which of the following structures is most simplistic? Sequential presentation Flashback Frame story or multiple points of view Multiple switches between action and commentary
Sequential presentation
In "Ambush," which of the following events signals the beginning of a narrative within a frame story? Kiowa tells the narrator that the man would have died anyway. The platoon moves into ambush position outside My Khe. The narrator describes a man walking on a trail. The narrator's daughter asks him a question about the past.
The narrator describes a man walking on a trail.
EXAM 100% Which best describes the central conflict in "Ambush"? The narrator is bothered by the fact that he lied to his daughter. The narrator is haunted by the experience of killing another man. The narrator is tormented by the grave dangers he once faced. The narrator is frustrated by the empty assurances of Kiowa.
The narrator is haunted by the experience of killing another man.
What "truths" are presented in this poem? Check all of the appropriate boxes. The poem expresses true emotions. The speaker does not like what the wall at the memorial represents. The speaker still suffers tension caused by the war. The speaker's war experiences influence him in the present.
The poem expresses true emotions The speaker still suffers tension caused by the war. The speaker's war experiences influence him in the present
How do you know that this passage contains a flashback, or change in time? The tense shifts from past to present. The tense shifts from present to past. The time shifts from Vietnam to the present.
The tense shifts from past to present.
EXAM 100% How does the author's use of free verse allow him to effectively express his feelings about the memorial in the poem "Facing It"? The use of free verse allows him to use personification. The use of free verse allows him to use a traditional rhyme scheme. The use of free verse allows him to use similes and metaphors. The use of free verse allows him to use unconventional rhythm.
The use of free verse allows him to use unconventional rhythm. NOT!! The use of free verse allows him to use similes and metaphors. NOT!! The use of free verse allows him to use personification.
EXAM 100% Which structural element do "Ambush" and "Facing It" share? They contain a story within a story. They contain multiple points of view. They present events in sequential order. They include a flashback about an event.
They include a flashback about an event.
Use what you learned in this lesson to answer the following question. How do O'Brien and Komunyakaa use structure to write war stories based on real life? Use evidence from the two texts in your answer.
Tim O'Brien," a writer and Vietnam War veteran, works through his memories of his war service to find meaning in them. Interrelated ... O'Brien concludes that a true war story, like the one about the water buffalo, is never about war; these stories are about love, memory, and sorrow.
Think about the title "Facing It." Check all of the possible meanings of the word "it" in the title. the memorial the direction of Vietnam life after the war the reality of the author's experience
the memorial life after the war the reality of the author's experience
I touch the name Andrew Johnson;I see the booby trap's white flash. —"Facing It," Yusef Komunyakaa The grenade made a popping noise — not soft but not loud either — not what I'd expected — and there was a puff of dust and smoke — a small white puff — and the young man seemed to jerk upward as if pulled by invisible wires. —"Ambush," Tim O'Brien How are the two passages similar? Both describe an explosion. Both contain sensory language. Both are flashbacks. Both describe the death of a soldier. Both use personification.
Both describe an explosion. Both contain sensory language. Both are flashbacks. Both describe the death of a soldier.
Which statements describe conflicts that develop because of the frame-story structure? Check all of the boxes that apply to the story you read. The narrator is not able to tell his daughter the truth about his experience. The narrator is not happy with his ability to write about the war. The experience of having killed a man in the past haunts the narrator in the present. The narrator recounts the traumatic feelings he experienced when he killed a man.
The narrator is not able to tell his daughter the truth about his experience. The experience of having killed a man in the past haunts the narrator in the present. The narrator recounts the traumatic feelings he experienced when he killed a man.
EXAM 100% Which best describes why "Ambush" contains a frame story? The narrator situates a flashback of his experience in Vietnam between related events that take place after the war. The narrator describes events that take place in two different countries: the United States and Vietnam. The narrator situates a flashback to his boyhood between related events that take place in the present, when he is an old man. The narrator describes events that take place in two different locations: a living room and a jungle.
The narrator situates a flashback of his experience in Vietnam between related events that take place after the war.
