Because she is speaking from a perspective after the fact, we can conclude that this story will be about tragedy, regret, and how one deals with grief. We already know that Orleanna regrets a lot of what happened and is trying to get it off her chest. In this way she deals with her grief as she retells the events leading up to the ruin of her past. The author chooses to have the girls speak in present tense to allow the reader to follow the aforementioned tragedies as they unfold. Because the girls speak in this manor, emotions are very vivid and accurately show how they feel in a particular moment.
This novel is made up of seven separate “books” which act as markers for turning points in the story. The first book in this seven “book” novel is titled “The Things We Carried.” As with many of Kingsolver’s names or titles, this one also contains a clear and distinct meaning behind it. Just from the title alone it is made obvious that this section of the novel will be about the things they brought with them to the