The Things They Carried

  After reading the first story, The Things They Carried, I honestly feel a bit disappointed. Or rather, I should say, I feel nothing at all. The list format throughout much of the story made the chapter more tedious that I had expected. And while I understand how the list creates anonymity and detachment to reveal the feelings of the soldiers and perception by society, like the soldiers, it leaves me devoid of more powerful emotions.
  That being said, I do love the bitter irony of some moments in the story. For instance, the dramatic tension as Lee Strunk knowingly enters the dangerous tunnel is jarringly ended when Ted Lavender is unexpectedly shot in the head while casually walking back from urinating. This is more a death for a 1000 Ways To Die than a hero's death. In this way, the senseless insanity of war is shown through humor much like in that of Joseph Heller's Catch-22.
  I also found that even though the purposeful monotony of some parts of the story left me emotionless, there were many very symbolic parts that did give me pause. The symbolism of Martha for instance, is really quite incredible because she is us. She represents the American citizen's idealism surrounding war. Although Jimmy Cross loves her, he comes to realize that "she did not love him and never would". I suppose this could either show the way citizens always feel detached from war and the soldiers giving up their entire lives and even sanity to fight for their country, or it could be a reference to the politcal turmoil and huge anti-war movement in the United States during Vietnam. How awful would it be to come to the realization that the thing you could be dying for has very little attachment to you whatsoever?
Overall, I find the the story was very deep and and rich in a literary sense, and I’m hoping the more intensely emotional parts will come later on in the book. I do have to say that I prefer this book greatly over There Eyes Were Watching God (sorry Clary).