"The Things They Carried" Response

This story was very well written and does a great job of evoking emotion and making you feel as is the author/narrator was right there with them in the jungle.  I think part of that is by describing the equipment and personal items that each soldier carries in detail and sticking with the "carrying" theme by describing how much each item weighs.  I think it also helps to make the reader really feel the weight that was on these men's shoulders both figuratively and literally.  There were several places in the reading that made me feel a lot of pity for the soldiers because the loads they had to carry seemed like adding insult to injury since they were in such a horribly situation.  I also really enjoyed the character of Jimmy Cross playing the absent minded Lieutenant.  His character was impossible not to feel for especially because were inside his head when he was thinking of Martha.  I also thought his portrayal of the way he thought about Martha was very believable, almost as if he was fighting back different thoughts especially the ones about her being a virgin. 

The way the squad was portrayed also seemed to capture male camraderie very well.  In a situation like that there isn't much to do but joke and think and it was shown very well.  A good example was mentioning Lavender's death several times randomly - it's the the sort of thought that would just pop into anyone's head at the most random of times. 

I also liked that quotation's weren't used, I think it helped to make the story seem less an author's account of something historical and made the story much more personal.  Almost as if it was happening right now. 

What I'd take away from this as an author is that detail and imagery can really help to engross a reader in the scene you are trying to create and really pull them in.  This story felt like I was hearing everything first hand from everyone involved and I thought that was a really great way to write historical fiction.