CORRECTION: Tim O’BRIEN – THE COWARD

Questions:

General comprehension:
1 Read the whole text and answer the following questions briefly:
a. Who? The narrator who is a drafted soldier in the US army even though he doesn’t want to take take part in the war.Supposedly, as the story is autobiographical the narrator may well be Tim O’Brien.
b. Where? The story takes place (is set) in a US Army training camp in Washington State, more precisely in the camp’s library, then on a bus going to Seattle, and to finish with a hotel in the same city.
c. When? The story takes place during the Vietnam War, so at the very end of the 60’s or beginning of the 70’S. We also know that it is wintertime.
d. What? The narrator is making plans to escape from (run away, flee from)the camp and in that way, avoid being drafted and going to Nam.His plans are to take the bus to Seattle, and then to fly to Sweden to settle there.
e. Does he reach his goal? No he doesn’t. In the end, he doesn’t carry out his plans and gives up his idea of running away.

Detailed Comprehension:
1. Read down to line 10 and find the English equivalents of:
Evasion, replier, portefeuille, bibliothèque, au lieu de cela, pénible, motif, poster
Escape,fold up, wallet, library, instead, tough, ground, mail
2. Quote three sentences showing that he kept his plans secret
‘I kept my escape plans folded up in my wallet’ (line 1), ‘a secluded table in the library’, (line 1), ‘I hid the letters’ (line 8)
3. Why did he take notes on Swedish History, culture, and politics?
Because Sweden is the final stop to the narrator’s escape plans. He wants to settle there because it is far from the USA and he doesn’t risk being taken.
Parce que la Suède est le point final à des plans d'évacuation de la narratrice. Il veut s'y installer, car il est loin d'être les Etats-Unis et il ne risque pas d'être prises.

4. What are the narrator’s feelings about himself when he wrote the letters.
When he is writing the