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The writing about the soldier's live's are descriptive. The soldiers were escaping their reality by thinking and visualizing about happier things. I think that "the things they carried" is going to be a motif or symbol of a deeper idea. - S.L.

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I think the authors continuation  of the word carried was important because he was trying to show how much burden a solider both physical and mental. The lieutenant carried the death of one of his soldiers named Ted Lavender and the way this impacted him moves the story to show how the impacts of war change a person. I wonder who else feels blame for the deaths and if they could have done anything to change the outcome. I want to learn what other storied are behind characters actions and why some carried non lifesaving supplies for their emotional state.

-N. F.

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It was interesting to see how as Jimmy Cross begins to be angered towards Martha and try to remove her from his memory after initially being infatuated with her, it also reflects his changing attitude towards the war as he tries to take the war more seriously. I think it shows the relation between the concepts of love/home and the seriousness of war.

- J.K.

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What resonated me was the guilt and desperation of each character. Right now i don't have any questions, I wonder if there's gonna be a part of the story that explains the cover of the book.

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I suppose jimmy cross and his love for Martha Iḿ one who resonates with love and I found it interesting how obsessed he was with this one girl despite being in the middle of a war. The question that I have is the rest of the book written this way, at times I felt it hard to follow like why did jimmy cross burn his photos. What was his platoon doing specifically in the war, and why did cross blame himself for Ted's death.
-Joaquin Loughlin

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The author has a very interesting way of writing. To me, his writing technique is very different. When Lavender died, I felt for Jimmy because he was very affected by this death. I was also struck by Jimmy's love and obsession with Martha. He was able to clearly recall every interaction he has had with Martha, and she probably had no idea of how obsessed Jimmy actually was with her. I wonder how other people feel about Jimmy's obsession with Martha. - s.l.t

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Everyone had a role, and a specific item to carry that somewhat formed there personality. Also in the first chapter it was already showing and telling the readers about people who died, like Dave Jensen. But one thing that I wonder is why did they carry Kool aid? I would think Kool aid dehydrates you.
- W.B

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Repetition and the layered metaphor of ¨carrying¨ stood out to me. I am interested to see how other groups -- Vietnamese citizens, women, Americans at home, among others -- are portrayed throughout the novel, and the relationships that develop between them. JR

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The soldiers were required to carry all sorts of equipment that I found quite interesting. All the different ways they prepared for the environments they would venture no matter how tired they got into was impressive.
-s. h.

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They carry the weight of sadness they all felt during the war i wonder if they named the book that way as a it symbolizes that the war will always haunt them
M.R

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It is very nice to see how war went from a perspective of a soldier. But the fact that soldiers didn't took death seriously, resonated me. Soldiers thought that they are going to die anyway, so they made it their duty. I wonder how soldiers felt when they returned home.

- Y. N.

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The things the soldiers carried kind of reflected themselves. I wonder if the Lieutenant Jimmy Cross meant what he said about Martha in the end of the chapter.

- VM

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Chapter 1 off the bat started talking about how some characters were coping with the war and how some of their emotions were taking over/ a toll on them such as Lieutenant  Cross. They also all were carrying a lot of heavy things, but all of them had maybe one or two things that they carried with them that helped them get through the war.
-N.L

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what resonated with me most was how jimmy felt responsible about lavenders death and his reaction afterwards. how many other people have died before this point?

m.f.

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What really resonated with me was how much he missed home and how desperately he clung to the reminders of such. For example he never gave up the picture of his friend from college. Also every soldier had some sort of item that reminded them of home or some other sort of escape from the present. Almost like a reminder of who they are as they lose themselves further and further in the Vietnam war. 

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What really resonated with me was how much he missed home and how desperately he clung to the reminders of such. For example he never gave up the picture of his friend from college. Also every soldier had some sort of item that reminded them of home or some other sort of escape from the present. Almost like a reminder of who they are as they lose themselves further and further in the Vietnam war. 

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-Emily R

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I'm curious about the motif of describing the items they had with them, and wether it will become important at some point. It seems like a very small thing to name the whole book after.
A.H.

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Something that resonated with me was how Ted Lavender was shot and dropped dead without out a second to blink or speak. It reminds me how quickly life could be taken from me unexpectedly.

Also, I wonder why the author doesn't refer to himself in the story. He talks about the people and their personal stories, but never his own, why?
-MR

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I thought the whole idea of the first chapter being centered round what they carried could end up being a major theme in the book about what is important to people and how they express that

-dlb

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What resonated with me in this chapter was the insane amount of detail that is used in almost every sentence. I loved that the author used so much detail because it has made me grasp on the characters and concepts of the first chapter.

- KM

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I wonder why the author kept bringing up the death of Ted Lavendar, as it was a prominent idea that showed throughout the chapter. Did he do it to show the brutality of war?

-M.U

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What resonated with me about this chapter was the symbolism of Cross burning Martha's letters, the action of deliberately letting her go forced by the guilt of Lavender's death. I wonder how this will play out, will Martha become less of a subject point now? -MV

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The soldiers thoughts and connections to the people they left at home, and how that translated into the war. How does that effect the other soldiers in the long run as well?
-B.E

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The guilt and desperation to fix it resonated with me, I wonder just how much of this book is memory? Of course the book is fiction but how much is based on the author's experience?

- Marcot

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While reading Chapter 1,  everything moved so fast and there was a lot of emotion. The author purposely made the pace of the book move fast because he is trying to show how fast war is. Does the author purposely use his choice of tone to relate to the war?

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While reading Chapter 1,  everything moved so fast and there was a lot of emotion. The author purposely made the pace of the book move fast because he is trying to show how fast war is. Does the author purposely use his choice of tone to relate to the war?

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-RB

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The descriptions of everything they carried were detailed as in the author listed guns, items, tools, and memories. I wonder if the author is going to be more in depth about everything they carried or it's a one chapter kind of thing since the chapter's title is "the things they carried".

LB

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The war seems so calm until someone gets killed or you're in a firefight. We get to see people's ideas and thoughts during the war, like lieutenant cross and his obsession with Martha - G.m

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Ted Lavender resonated with m the most. The story of his death started in the middle with him dying. It's later revealed on when/how he died and what happens after.

-M.S

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They carried a lot of stuff that weighed a lot. What do they do with they things that belonged to the people that passed away? Do they have to carry it too? I wonder how much they weigh in total with everything on. - m.a.

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The guilt Jimmy Cross felt when lavender died resonated with me. I wonder how long they have been out in war?
- s.g

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Why is the book so heavily focused on what the troops carried during the war, is there some message or theme that the author is trying to convey through that?

-KL