As I started to read the book, I noticed that O'Brien would describe the things the soldiers physically carried and then something they emotionally carried. "He [Jimmy Cross] carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men" (page 5). That would be a lot to carry and I would have a hard time coping with that thought. I would not be able to function under the immense pressure that other people's lives depended on me. O'Brien states how heavy the physical items are that the soldiers carry and it directly links to the heaviness of the fear and anxiety the soldiers also carried.
"They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried" (page 7). This quote really brought me back to the reality of the wartime draft. These people were not soldiers; they were draftees. They were forced to come into a war did not support or understand.
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