Artifacts of War

Both the article on artifacts and the first chapter of The Things They Carried, emphasized the idea of symbolic artifacts. They talked a great deal on the diverse items that would be either carried with the soldiers or that would be left in remembrance of the soldiers. In both cases the intentions would be to give power to an inanimate on which to throw their worries and concerns on. Much were the horrors of death that the overwhelming emotions had to be transmitted to an exterior source in order to avoid a mental overload that would of further the consequences of the war. For this very reason soldiers, later their family members, carried with them artifacts that held the most value to them so that they would be able to exchange their negativity with some of the positivity stored up from previous experiences found with in the things they carried. Similar to this effect the relatives of the dead soldiers also found some relieve in leaving behind an artifact containing a greater good than the evil that caused the need to engrave the corresponding name in that infamous black marble.

In terms of psychology these artifacts were the saviors of sanity for many soldiers during the war and the consultants of others after the war. Each individual artifact gave a very different effect compared to others although the intents behind them shared a commonality. For better or for worse the artifacts can be seen as an act of desperation showing how agonizing war, in particular this war, can be and how severe and lasting its consequences may be. Perhaps one day we will finally learn from our mistakes and find an easier softer way to handle baffling situations.