Like an executive summary, many novels use the first chapter to introduce the major themes and contents of the work. An example of this technique is Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. In it, O'Brien uses the first chapter, "The Things They Carried," to introduce the characters and the tangible and intangible items they took with them and sometimes burdened over. He uses these possessions to thoroughly define the man carrying it. To these men, even in a war, it is not the machine guns and claymore mines that they prize to maintain their survival but items like pictures and pantyhose that help them remain sane and alive. Each man had his own needs and each man carried his own talisman, all in an effort to remain in the real world. These items eventually became the person carrying it. In this novel, O'Brien's successful portrayal of his war...