In the field, Good Form, Field Trip, The Ghost Soldiers

Chapter 17: “In the Field”
1.    Briefly summarize the plot and style of the story. Is this story more of a “true” war story than the account in the chapter “Speaking of Courage”?
2.    What point of view is used to narrate “In the Field”? 
3.    Why is the young man not identified in the story? What is the character’s purpose in the narrative? 
4.    In “In The Field,” O'Brien writes, “When a man died, there had to be blame.” What does this mandate do to the men of O'Brien's company? Are they justified in thinking themselves at fault? How do they cope with their own feelings of culpability? Consider all of the characters.
 5.    What, in the end, is the significance of the shit field story (or stories)?

Chapter 18: “Good Form”
1.    In “Good Form,” O'Brien casts doubt on the veracity of the entire novel. Why does he do so? Does it make you more or less interested in the novel? Does it increase or decrease your understanding? What is the difference between “happening-truth” and “story-truth?”
 
Chapter 19: “Field Trip”
1.    Why does O’Brien return to the shit field? 2.    What is the point of putting Kiowa’s moccasins in the ground (burying them)? 3.    Explain the significance of the final sentence. Who or what is “all finished”?
 
Chapter 20: “The Ghost Soldiers”
1.    What does “The Ghost Soldiers” add to the book that we have almost completed? Does it provide any new insights, perspectives, or experiences about any of the characters? What do you think its function in the overall narrative might be?
2.    Does your opinion of O'Brien change throughout the course of the novel? How so? How do you feel about his actions in “The Ghost Soldiers”?
3.    “The Ghost Soldiers” is one of the only stories of The Things They Carried in which we don't know the ending in advance. Why might O'Brien want this story to be particularly suspenseful?
4.    Explain the significance of the title of this chapter.