The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is a short story about soldiers in Vietnam.  They are described not by their looks, or actions, or speech, but by the contents of their packs.  One man carries a can of peaches, because that is one thing he really likes.  The lieutenant carries letters from his love back home.  One man carries tranquilizers and drugs because he is afraid.  They are also described by their psychological burdens, which are reflected in their gear.  

I was deeply impressed with this short story.  I think part of the reason that it resonated so well with me was because I have encountered something remotely similar myself.  I went to Philmont, and we carried everything we needed to sustain us for more than eighty miles over about nine days.  Everything we carried was carefully planned.  If something was missing, we couldn't get a new one.  If we had something we didn't need, then that was extra weight that was unnecessarily wearying us.  Several people cut about half of the handles of their toothbrushes off in order to save weight.  I know about the physical burden these men bore.  

I was equally impressed, though, with his portrayal of their psychological burdens.  Not only were they carrying more than the average person their age could bear for more than a couple miles a day, they were stressed by things most of us have never encountered, and hope not to encounter.  They watched people die, or watched as people died under their hands.  They were sometimes running for their lives.  The didn't know if they'd ever see their family again.  They remembered the faces, and sometimes the expressions on them, of their friends who had fallen in battle. 

One shortcoming it had for me, was that it introduces too many characters too quickly.  It also didn't follow a chronological progression a first, and that was confusing.  For a while, I thought several people had died, not just Ted Lavender.  

After reading this short story, and then later finding out that there is a whole book, even a series of books, I wanted to read more.  It was the only short story that I wanted to read more of once I had finished it.