The Things I Carry
In the Red Badge of Courage the first three chapters are primarily about the main character, Henry, and his growing trepidation about the coming battle his regiment has been ordered to march toward. All of the men physically carry their packs, which they eventually let go of shortly into the march in the first page of chapter III. They carry their rifles for eventual combat. They carried their canteens and haversacks so they could eat. The soldiers carried their blankets so they could sleep. They also carried their bodies, which can seem heavy enough at times.
The intangible things these men carry are their insecurities, like the loud one who is all talk until chapter three’s end; their fears, like Henry’s constant battle with himself over the war; their frustration with the way their regiment is being led; the men carried they personal beliefs, of which Henry felt he was the only one who held the beliefs he did, and they carried their doubts about each other.
The things that I carry on my person are the normal things most of the time. At any given time during a weekday I will have at least: my wallet, my cellphone, my flashdrive (I seem to have misplaced that), a ChapStick, and a couple guitar/bass picks. Now, figuratively, I always carry the mistakes I have made in the past, which are numerous, the opprtunities I have let slip by, tasks not completed, people I have wronged, and the memory of people who’ve wronged me. I think everyone carrys these things to some degree.
