Chapter 1: The Things They Carried

In the list of all the things the soldiers carried, what item was most surprising? Which item did you find most evocative of the war? Which items stay with you?

• The items that were most surprising in the list of all the things the soldiers carried would be comic books and M&Ms. Tim talks about each of the soldiers and what they carried as he says, “ As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&Ms for especially bad wounds, for a total weight of nearly 18 pounds” (O’Brien 5). This was surprising because of the humor that was intended along with the meaning, showing once again that the humor was intended to lighten up the subject and to show that after all, they are still human. The item that I found the most evocative of the war would be the pantyhose. The pantyhose that one of the soldiers wrapped around their necks as a comforter shows that they still have emotions. This is a feeling of hope that soon he could return the pantyhose to the owner; he could perhaps simply use it to comfort himself in stressful situations.Living with the anxiety of the question, “When will it be death day?”, one must have something to fight for, or to look forward to at the end of the chaos.

In what sense does Jimmy love Martha? Why does he construct this elaborate, mostly fictional, relationship with her: What does he get out of it?

• He loves that she’s a virgin; he generally gains satisfaction of knowing she’s a virgin as stated, “Her legs, he thought, were almost certainly the legs of a virgin, dry without hair, the left knee cocked and carrying her entire weight, which was just over 117 lbs” (O’Brien 4). In his description of her, he includes the idea of her being a virgin. Who would involve implicitly the idea of being a virgin in their description of another person?
• Jimmy loves he idea of Martha because of her sensibility and virginity. He understands that she is in a different ‘world’ as he put it, however, he doesn’t let go of the possibilities and sensual feelings he has towards her, even after the war. 

Why do the soldiers tell jokes about the war, about killing?

• It is their way of avoiding the realities of the tragic outcomes and death defying results from war. They did this to ease the tension of the presence of someone else dying. They described it as ‘boom-down’. This was how they saw it, they didn’t sugar code what it looked like or what it was, they just saw  a shot then down they went.

How is the idea of weight used and developed in the story? How do you, as a reader, feel reading those lists of weight? What effect does it have on you?

• The weight initiates from a literal perspective which is why there are accumulated lists of the actual things they carried to a more emotional factor. They transcended from the feeling of remorse to a feeling of heaviness in cause of all the death and personal attachment in times of crisis. It creates the heavy load to transcend on to me personally. As their load grows, so does mine and I begin to also carry and feel the weight of it. “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water” (O’Brien 2). This is what they began with in their description of the things they carry; later, transitioning to, “It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do” (O’Brien 24). 

How has Jimmy changed by the end of the story? How will he be a different person from this point on? What has he learned about himself? Or to put it another way, what has he lost and what has he gained?

• He went from caring about his love life, and it being his main priority and focus, to a switch to focusing on the war and his men. “ He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence” (O’Brien 24). This was after Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. The most unexpected moment, the same moment he was daydreaming about Martha. He, after, began to hate her in a way that was leading to the idea it was her fault for his man to get shot. He learned from then on to focus on his priority which was the war and his men. He lost the focus of Martha and gained his focus for him men and the war.

Reflection:

Lightness was brought to the soldiers through the jokes they made. This was their way to not only distract themselves, but to also cover the tension and the feeling of what death brings. This heaviness brings them to try to avoid the internal conflicts of death and their possible fates. Knowingly, this could be them, or a friend, or a relative, or someone near and dear to them. To create a void and set the boundary to cut off the emotional connection, after all they are in war. They were trained men set for war they couldn’t allow their emotions and feelings distract them from that. Another would be from panic. They have to make sure the other men are not in panic mode when this happens, even if they are all thinking it, no one wants to act on it. This was generally a sign of weakness to the men. This is why they brought things to keep them sane. For example the condoms, they brought these things to help them save their humanity through the unforeseen tragedies in war.