The Things They Carried

Sweeheart of the song Tra Bong

Looking through the gender lens, what is the significance of Mary Ann’s story being told by a man to a man who then tells it to us? How does this pattern of storytelling affect the characterization of Mary Ann?

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The Vietnam War was mostly a man's war, and this book is populated mostly by men. But the adolescent soldiers are obsessed by sex and any story involving women has a sexual fantasy element to it.

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