In the story, “The Things They Carried”, he discusses many random things, yet they all somehow fit together. He talks about the things that he and other soldiers are carrying. He begins, giving us a slight opening into his heart and is life. He talks about the letters that Martha had sent him. He talks about how they were simple words about her life at the college she was attending, “Mount Sebastian”. However, these letters never even began to hint at the fact that she was interested in him, as much as he was interested in her. He then goes on describing the other things that were necessities for soldiers to carry. He discusses the importance of lighters, matches, sewing kits, and other random things such as those. He also discusses the different things that different soldiers have to carry, such as doctors, as opposed to lieutenants. To me the story actually seemed very random until the very end when it all seems to come together. He has realized all along that Martha does not love him and that Martha was living in another world and thinking about other things. He goes on to talk about how many of the soldiers carry different things inside. Though they carried many things, knifes and matches, on the outside of their bodies, the inside, their hearts, looked completely different. He states, “The things men carried inside.” This in not only true of the men in the story but is true of all men, of all mankind, actually. We all have junk on the inside that we are carrying with us, and the more we let it build up, the more angry and upset we get with ourselves and with the world. I’m not sure if this is the point that he was trying to make with the story, but I think that it is definitely something that I pulled from the story and was able to apply to my own life and experiences.