The main symbol in “The Things They Carried” are the necessities they carried as well as their personal belongings. Each item tells a story that shows the soldier's past life. Rat Kiley, the doctor, always had M&M's with him. They were not to snack during breaks. He brought them to serve as a placebo for soldiers who were not seriously injured and who were not going to make it. The candy tricked some soldiers into thinking it was a painkiller and actually kept them alive and, most importantly, the tranquilizers and Ted Lavender's drug helped reduce his fear. Kiowa carried an illustrated New Testament. For Jimmy, these are his letters from Martha, it symbolizes the life he wishes he could live at home with her. However, they all had one thing in common, the trait of cowardice, the instinct to flee at any time. Piedmont-Marton states in his critical essay: "The things they wear on their bodies create the illusion of unity and collaboration, but the fragile collective is always compromised by the things they carry inside and by the meanings and emotions attached to the youngest and the oldest. deprived of the artifacts” (Paragraph 3). It shows that the things that weigh the most have the least meaning for them. The only thing that helps them get through the trials and not put a bullet in their foot is the weightless memories that they have and which give them