The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried is an assortment of stories about the Vietnam War. This book centers around the relationships the men make and formed in Vietnam. The stories aren’t war stories; they are stories about love, respect and the networks made between the men when they spend each day trying to stay alive.
Jimmy Cross is the leader of the group and he carries a picture of a Martha, a girl who writes him from back in the states where he lives. There is no real relationship between the two and Jimmy knows this, but he uses the picture the help keep some kind of connection to the world he knows back in the states. He creates stories in his head about what will happen when he makes it back home, alive and well.

The men rely on each other for entertainment to break up the endless days of marching though the Vietnam wilderness. With hours and hours of marching and no action the men need a release or the boredom would drive them crazy. An example of this is "Kiowa teaching a rain dance ...