Britta Tornberg-The things they carried

Dear Class-

I feel this novel so beautifully expresses the horrors of war in such a real manner. Each man carries many things, but whatever they carry only falls under one of two categories- the things they need and the lives they left behind. Kiowa must have been a religious man back at home, because he carries a bible. I feel that he was probably drafted in this war because I could never imagine a truly spiritual person destroying anything. Lt. Cross carries photos of Martha. Martha is a symbol of his life at home because he always fantasizes and craves what he cannot have while at the front. He knows he will never have Martha. The amount of items each man carries as a necessity greatly overpowers the amount of things they carry from their past life. I feel that the items they carry for survival show us that this is the life the soldiers live now which overpowers the lives these men have all once lead. Many of these men sadly will not return to their lives prior to the war