Read over the first chapter and write a paragraph explaining the possible significance of the title The Things They Carried.

I can comment on the title as a whole. Besides their gear, the characters carry emotions like sadness and fear. Jimmy Cross carries responsibility for the lives of his men. O'Brien sets up a dichotomy between weight and lightness, with war always described in terms of weight, love in terms of lightness. His characters are condemned to carry the war for the rest of their lives.