If I Die in a Combat Zone consists of twenty-three short chapters and an afterword. The chapters are not always in chronological order. Why might O'Brien have structured his book this way? How does this structure support or contradict his views about war?

Chapters 16 and 22 take their titles from the Socratic dialogue Laches, in which Socrates and Laches discuss the nature of courage. What does O'Brien think courage is? Is he courageous, by his own definition? In what ways does he fail to live up to his definition of courage?

The shadow of the My Lai Massacre hangs over If I Die in a Combat Zone. In the March 1968 massacres, hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were killed. O'Brien serves in the same area of Vietnam a year later. How is the conduct of O'Brien's Alpha Company, as described in the book, similar to or different from that of Lieutenant Calley's Charlie Company during the My Lai Massacre? What does O'Brien's view of war crimes seem to be?