Short Story: "The Things They Carried"

I have to be honest; I do not often find myself reading short stories for fun very often, and most of the time,  I disregard the texts that I have to read for class shortly thereafter. However, my senior year of high school, we read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, which is a collaboration of related short stories from O'Brien about his experience in the Vietnam War. 

For me, the most memorable short story from this collection was the very first, which also happened to be called "The Things They Carried." I remember reading this short story during my senior year and expecting that this book would be just like any other book I had ever been assigned for school--confusing, non-engaging, and nothing of the nature that I would want to read. However, I remember being drawn into the beginning of a story like never before, as I wanted to read all the more about the physical, mental, and emotional things our soldiers carry for us.

I had considered the emotional toll it would take on soldiers before, but I never considered it in the context of getting in the way of their work. I never considered that they would physically carry letters they had received in their backpack or that they would superstitiously hold onto a loved one’s garments. I never considered that their thoughts would so preoccupy them that they would find themselves removed from their work or removed from mourning the loss of one of their brothers on the front lines.

But perhaps the greatest benefit we reap from O'Brien mentioning the physical and emotional things is the development of the plot, the setting, and the characters in one great swoop. We understand their lives as soldiers, the necessity of the physical things they carry, and the things most important to the characters, which set up storylines for the short stories to follow. 

Essay Prompt: Imagine you are going backpacking. What would you pack? Be as descriptive as O'Brien in describing the things you would carry to unveil the plot, the setting, and a great character description.

http://savanna.auhsd.us/view/26051.pdf