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The author, Tim O'Brien starts out the book by discussing all the things that the different soldiers carry depending on the various situations that they might find themselves in. He discusses the things they carry physically but also the mental things that they carry with them, like loved ones or regret.

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I also noticed that at the beginning of the book, it seems like the narrator is discussing war and death in a very blunt, matter of fact way which may be done to show how war has caused death to become normalized to the soldiers and this shows how the culture behind war just sees casualties as another number.

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I like how the author has built a bunch of different story lines and story arch's into the book for the various characters and how they all come together to build his message that he wants the reader to take away regarding war.

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One of the soldiers, Ted Lavender just got shot. This death hit all the soldiers hard, especially Cross, because he blamed himself for Lavenders death because he realized that he hasn't had his head in the game/war since he's been so consumed by his love and longing for Martha. This caused him to end up burning Martha's letters so that he can move on to some extent and begin to focus on the war at hand. Ted Lavenders death is a first example of how war & the things that happen during the war affect the soldiers fighting in it.

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Cross ended up reuniting with Martha at a college reunion where he professed his love for Martha. Cross seems to be obsessed with Martha and is basing his whole life and all his decisions on how Martha would feel about it. It seems like an unhealthy obsession but he's young so it's common for young kids to feel like that. It's an interesting story line.

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I enjoyed the post war jump that they did with Martha and Cross. Cross clearly still carries the guilt regarding Lavenders death which makes a lot of sense because they went to war together and were very close and cross being a lieutant makes him responsible for Lavender.

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Some of the message behind the title of the book and regarding the burdens of love and war that the author is trying to exemplify throughout this well written and captivating story is beginning to show.

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This chapter felt disconnected and all over the place but I feel like it taught me about the various aspect of war.

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This chapter gave me insight on Obrien and his struggles. Obrien faced personal conflict on weather he wanted to flee or go fight in the war. In this chapter the idea that is presented is the shame Obrien feels about going to war because he thought it was against his ideals and morals and he did it for the wrong reason. this goes back to the metaphorical meaning behind the title of the shame, guilt and pain that comes with war and love.

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This chapter shows how the soldiers are not prepared for the stresses of war because their just young kids. Even Lieutenant Cross is only 24 and the others aren't older than 19 or 20. Some may be career military, but many, like the narrator, were drafted and have only brief military training. They are not prepared for the stresses of war.

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Critics praise O'Brien's writing as clean, straightforward, precise, and unsparing of painful details. The description of Lee's injury in "Friends" provides a good example of O'Brien's ability to capture perilous moments in close detail.

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In this chapter, the author uses the stories of Curt's death and Mitchell's story to illustrate the narrator's thoughts about war stories. He explains what true war stories are and are not.

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How most people see the dentist vs how Curt Lemon sees the Dentist

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How most people see the dentist vs how Curt Lemon sees the Dentist

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Mary Anne is one of the few female characters in the book and the only woman who plays a central role in a story set in Vietnam. It's as if she absorbs the war and the Vietnam landscape into herself in such a way that it liberates her. Mary Anne crosses traditional gender boundaries to become more like a soldier than some of the men in the platoon.

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We learn that all the soldiers carry some sort of lucky items convey a sense of safety and home, and the platoon members become "believers" in their power and importance. Superstitious beliefs are among the methods the soldiers use to cope with the war's terrifying monotony and sudden threats.

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In this chapter I noticed that the narrator uncharacteristically, makes no comment on the story which is unusual. I noticed that he withholds his thoughts about the conversation, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions.

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The young Vietnamese man, the narrator imagines, is very much like him. He is someone who loved to learn, who felt the pressures of his village's and family's expectations about war, who had "no stomach for violence" but felt sure that he would die and then "wake up in the stories of his village."

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In this version of the young soldier's death, the narrator focuses on his own feelings and thoughts. When the man appears on the trail, the narrator "does not see him as the enemy" but is still terrified. He remembers how throwing the grenade was "entirely automatic."

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I noticed that Azar and Henry act as each other's foil in this brief story, which means that each character behaves in ways that contrast with and draw attention to the other.

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In this chapter, interwoven into the story of Kiowa's death are more comments on telling war stories. I noticed that their were many would have and could have verb phrases occur in the story.

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This chapter examines an important subject powerfully which is the transition of Vietnam vets into civilian life after the war.

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The third chapter to deal with Kiowa's death and describes the event's impact on an unnamed young soldier. This soldier fights tears as he digs as if "chasing some creature" in the muck.

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This is a shot chapter which further develops the narrator's thoughts about writing war stories. Writing these stories is "not a game" but serious work that helps the narrator remember and helps his readers sympathize with what he and other soldiers experienced in war.

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This chapter highlights the narrator's sense of disconnection after he returns to Vietnam, years after the war which further shows the impact that wars have on soldiers.

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In this chapter, the narrator experiences a moral crisis. He is surprised to realize what has happened to him. After seven months of combat, the "simple daily realities" of war have made him cold, even cruel.

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This chapter examines more psychological stresses of the war, focusing on Rat but including the whole platoon. Rat suffers as his mind begins to consume itself. The line between fantasy and reality is often strained. For Rat reality has been replaced by a stream of hallucinatory images of body parts and bugs. In order to escape, he has to shoot himself. This story really exemplifies the mental strain that war has on humans.

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This chapter offers an example of how stories from one period of a person's life can affect events in another period. The book end up focusing largely on the narrator's childhood. By connecting the narrator's adult and childhood experiences, the story shows that death is not an isolated or unique occurrence but has a larger place in the overall story of the narrator's life.

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I found this book and its message very captivating and revealing about the burdens of war and it's affects on the soldiers. I would definitely recommend the book.