The Things They Carried

Jimmy Cross carried the letters because it gave him something to believe in and rely on, it gave him hope and a sense of something to keep going for...many of the other characters had similar objects (toothbrushes, condoms, etc.) all of which seem completely unnecessary given their circumstances but to each individual character these items could not be done without becuase these items gave the same hope and sense of self for these individual characters as the letters from Martha give to Jimmy Cross...the photographs are reminders of happier times and a better life, a life without fighting and such emotional toil...the author throws in humerous tidbits such as:
"medic carried M&Ms for especially bad wounds...riflemen carried 8.4 lbs - 14 lbs of magazines & when available M-16 maintenance gear"
^ funny how the medic carried M&Ms...ridiculous that the riflemen carried 14 lbs of magazines (seemingly unnecessary) and only carried M-16 maintenance gear "when available"...seems twisted and out of order

Lieutenant blamed himself for the loss of a soldier because he was spending too much time thinking of the love of his life (Martha), this probably happened often with young men in the armed forces they take their mind off of their mission for one minute and it most likely ends in a casulty... that coincides with the quote:

"they all carried all they could bear, & then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power the things they carried."
^ the soliders understand the physical and emotional weight of the things they carried, both personal and required

"they all carried ghosts"
^all of the things that the men help onto so great (pantyhose, vitamins, etc) were all just to try and keep them as alive and functioning as possible however these objects are like ghosts, they don't really have any real meaning anymore

"imagination was a killer" - Cross's imagination literally is...it is his inability to focus that causes him casulties

the description of Strunk coming back from the cave (all zombie like) could be correlated to the way the men from war appeared once they finally came home...like Zombies with little to no life in them anymore...i don't understand the moral of the war and the thumb and the other objects and events that the soldiers describe but they believe there is a moral, one that can not be clearly stated or explained...i like how the author goes from crucial to emotional objects it really emphasizes their situation and the degree of their sufferings/emotional burdens.

"their principles were in their feet...calculations...no strategy"
^more emphasis on how the soldiers became less and less like people and more and more like robots due to their situation

for all the mysteries and unknowns of war there was always at least one single certainty...they would never be at a loss for things to carry...their lives, their families, their return home were all uncertain events but their bags would always be full regardless. They may die...but they will die with their bags full...

"it was the burden of being alive"
^sometimes being alive was harder than being dead.
"they were afraid of dying but even more afriad to show it...just to avoid the blush of dishonours...it was not courage rather they were too afriad to be cowards"
^ the male ego is a very powerful tool...it was the very last thing keeping them going