The Things They Carried

 

Like all of the men in The Things They Carried I would most certainly carry only the necessitates. Things such as: matches, morphine, food rations, and weapons would be a must for battle. Like most of the characters in this story I would also carry things that defined me and who I was. I would carry things that would help me take my mind away from war and the stress that comes along with war. For Ted Lavender, to cope with this stress he had to use tranquilizers and Marijuana. For me this would be things like family photos and small objects like a crucifix necklace. Music is one of the biggest stress relievers for me, so I am sure that I would have to have my Ipod or some sort of music player with me in the field. However, there is much more to the "things they carried" than just the physical. While I do believe war is a terrible necessity for the world in which we live, I would certainly carry an extremely large amount of guilt for killing people. Tim O'Brien said, "They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." The soldiers carried with them the ability to kill people, families, and entire villages. O’Brien also wrote, "You can't fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can't make them undead.” The consequence of that ability to kill was that these soldiers had to carry with them that knowledge and guilt which they would surly rather forget.  I would most definitely carry with me that same type of guilt. That guilt would be the heaviest of all the things to carry.

An Indian-American Dream

Zitkala-Sa (Red Bird) was one of thousands that pursued the American dream as an Indian. Most people associate the American Dream with a life of easy, peace, and prosperity. Ultimately, that is the goal. What most people do not understand is that to achieve this dream you must try, fight, and persevere. This is exactly what Zitkala-Sa did which is why her story is so American. Early Americans fought the British for their freedoms. The Indians, and Zitkala-Sa, had to fight the Americans for theirs. Early settlers had adversities they had to overcome, and while Zitkala-Sa's may have been different, they were struggles none the less. In her writing, "The School Days of an Indian Girl" she talks these struggles. The white man was horrible to the Indians. Zitkala writes about the time when they held her down and forced her to have her hair cut.  She wrote, "I cried aload...and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids."  The Whites in charge of the Iron Routine, at the school, often refused to treat the sick children and resulted in the child's death. These and other struggles helped Zitkala to become the woman she became. Though she did adapt to the "white-man" ways of life, she still held her Indian heritage close. These struggles are her American Dream. While different than the traditional American Dream, it is her Indian-American dream none the less.