Things to Carry.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brian is an intriguing story for several reasons. I thought it very interesting about the specific weight of all the items. Why would they include specific weights for everything they carried? Perhaps it was because of the setting of the book. A platoon of soldiers deployed into the Vietnam War are just taking over villages and burning them for a “bigger cause”. The Vietnam War to me and I’m sure others was a pointless period of America’s history. Not in the sense to demean the soldiers who did serve and give their lives for our country, rather the fact that War accomplished very little. I think the author uses the weights to show how un-epic the war was for this group of soldiers. They had so much time on their hands to weigh items. I appreciate their willingness to serve. They seem to carry things that mean to most to them… deep thought right.

If I had a knapsack, what would I carry in it? What 3 things mean the most to me? The Bible is the obvious choice; however I don’t want to play town the importance of the Bible. This one-pound eight ounce masterpiece would get me though anything I can imagine. It would certainly get me through a mission in the jungle. I would also carry a photograph of my family. Not because I will forget what they look like, but to remind me that there will always be people that love me, and that I can see again. The last thing I would carry a soccer ball. Soccer seems to be a way to connect with everybody in the world. I’m sure the Vietnamese people would surrender for an hour or two to play a quick game. These seemingly trivial choices really mean a great deal to me, and cant imagine living a life without them.