In the story "The Things They Carried," Tim O'Brien makes obvious the impenetrable bond between each soldier and his personal possessions with the use of the word "hump." This word, often used in modern times as a sexual innuendo, is perhaps the most vivid description of the way the soldiers actually treated their things.
             Each man carried a variety of weaponry, most of which was standard issue, but they also humped some treasure that was a symbol of their very character. For instance, "Henry Dobbins, who was a big man, carried extra rations; he was especially fond of canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake. Dave Jenson, who practiced field hygeine, carried a toothbrush, dental floss, and several hotel sized bars of soap he'd stolen on R&R in Sydney, Australia. Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers..." Each mans personality was different so each humped something different, but they all "humped" something; every soldier had his own burden of unnecessary weight.
             When the battlefield setting is examined, the necessity for an object to hump becomes amazingly clear. Without an outward representation of inner feelings to accompany him, A soldier may lose sense of his own reality. The extra weight that is humped reminds each man of his own life; it reminds him of what he is fighting for, and encourages him to keep on fighting.
             The hump represents each man's struggle to maintain his sanity throughout the endless chaos. As the battle rages on and ammunition is used, there becomes less weight to carry, but the personal burden will continue to be humped until the war is over. This unyeilding task is one of the few things that inspires the soldiers to stay alive.
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