The Things They Carried- Fear

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Response Paper #1- Fear 6/17/2013 Fear Fear is something most people experience through their life. Sometimes it could be the fear of losing a loved one, the fear of a certain situation like getting mugged or others that you have to deal with like the fear of dying in war. In “The Things They Carried” the soldiers all carried a few types of fear. For all of them, they carried the fear of dying. For Lieutenant Cross, he carried the fear of his soldiers dying. Cross also feared that he would never get to be with Martha. Just like those soldiers, I carried many different types of fear as well. In my early childhood at age 6, I had first experienced fear in my life when my mother and I had been held to gunpoint in her car. The man told me that if I cried he would shoot my mother. Luckily the man had to do errands so he took our car, left us on the side of the street and standing a block away was a police officer who quickly caught up with the man and arrested him. This was my first real experience of fear. I wasn’t sure if I was more scared of losing my life or losing my mom. Just like the Lieutenant Cross, I suffered the fear of losing not only myself but a loved one as well. Sometimes fear helps you prepare yourself better. In “The Things They Carried” some soldiers feared losing their lives so much that they carried extra items for extra protection. For an example, Dave Jensen carried empty sand bags for extra protection. Sand bags have many different uses. These could be filled with sand to build a wall for a trench to stop floods and/or slow down or change the route of bullets. Fear has made me prepare myself better. In 2007, my mom was hit by a car in the parking lot of a shopping mall and almost died. But luckily, she stood strong and fought her way back to her normal health. This has made me more aware when walking in parking lots. I make sure

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