The Things They Carried: The Lives of the Dead

Question: What is the moral of the dead KIA’s? Consider Mitchell Sander’s view.

Answer:

            Mitchell Sanders, while viewing corpses, articulately says, “Death sucks.” (O’Brien, 243). While the thought is simple, it’s undoubtedly true. Once a person dies, they leave their life, including the people and things that they love within that life. While it’s still under speculation as to what actually happens after someone dies, the undisputable fact is that no matter what happens, you won’t be living the life that you worked so hard to create anymore. That, plus the fact that your body becomes a bloated, gassy corpse with a horrible stench, heavily supports Sanders interpretation. However, that doesn’t mean it’s the end. While your corpse is stuck, your spirit, the part that makes you be you (like your thoughts, passions and memories), goes on to whatever comes next. I think that the moral of this story is that yes, death sucks, but it’s not the end.