"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien is a book written about the Vietnam War and really tells a great story about the soldiers who put their lives in danger and gives a profound study of men at war. This book gives different points of views of the same events, and the difference between reality and truth. It centers on the relationships the men form with each other, but also their connections to the world they left behind and the connections that they formed to Vietnam. The stories are not war stories, but stories about the loved ones that were left behind or soldiers who needed love. This reading supports my views of the soldier's experiences in the Vietnam War.
             It is normal to react abnormally to an abnormal situation. This is the main theme of the book and O'Brien shows the most importance to Cross by opening the story with this aspect of his personal life. Also, in this story the soldiers try to lessen the physical burden by either throwing out food or blowing up their ammunition. They seem to be desperate if they blow up the things that are meant to keep them strong and save their lives. These things are among the more important things they carry, and they are the first that they dispose of. They do this solely at the chance to drop some of the unbearable feeling they all share. Every soldier goes through an emotional breakdown phase during their time of duty and the only way to get stronger is by holding yourself together. Keeping something with you that you can look at everyday, so when you return home you can either see it or go to it.
             First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was a young man who was in love with a girl named Martha. Martha was a junior in college and anything that went across Jimmy Cross's mind was either compared or substituted for Martha, and even sometimes got a little bit disgusting. The envelope that was sealed by Martha's tongue was then lick
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