The Things They Carried - List of Short Stories

List of Short Stories

• "The Things They Carried"
• "Love" - A story about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his love for a girl named Martha who does not share his feelings.
• "Spin" - A series of vignettes depicting several brief scenes that occurred during the war.
• "On the Rainy River" - A story about when the narrator was drafted, and the feelings and actions that resulted.
• "Enemies" - Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen fight just because of a missing jackknife.
• "Friends" - Continuing story of "Enemies", it tells how Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen eventually become friends.
• "How to Tell a True War Story" - The narrator describes how to tell a war story. In the process, he describes the death of Curt Lemon and the reaction of his friend Rat Kiley.
• "The Dentist" - This story talks about Curt Lemon's ego and his desire to maintain it.
• "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" - Mark Fossie's girlfriend, Mary Anne, comes to Vietnam.
• "Stockings" - Talks about Henry Dobbins' belief or superstition about his girlfriend's stockings; he believes these stockings are a talisman for luck.
• "Church"
• "The Man I Killed" - This story shows the narrator's loss of innocence.
• "Ambush" - Different point of view of "The Man I Killed"
• "Style"
• "Speaking of Courage" - The story of Norman Bowker, a close friend of Kiowa, who is emotionally damaged as a result of the war, and later hangs himself in the YMCA of his hometown.
• "Notes" - Clarifies some of the details in "Speaking of Courage".
• "In the Field"
• "Good Form"
• "Field Trip" - Returning to the war zone, the narrator brings his daughter in order to finally cope with Nam.
• "The Ghost Soldiers"
• "Night Life"
• "The Lives of the Dead"