Courage- The Upham showed the greatest gain of courage in the movie. At the beginning he was totally against shooting people and even during the final fight he was afraid to do anything. At the end though he finally gained courage and shot the man that killed Mellish.

Manhood- Private Ryan probably showed manhood the best because when he heard his brothers were dead he decided he should just stay with "the only brothers he has left."

Self-preservation- When they are about to take out the machine gun nobody wanted to stay and fight except the captain.

Disregard for Human Life- Once again when they took out the machine gun and Wade died everybody wanted to kill the German that was still alive.

Noise and Silence- When everybody's fighting its really loud but when they take a minute to look around it went totally silent.

Light and Dark- During the battles it seems like its always dark out but when they're done and everybody snaps out of the zone the light seems to shine again.

Clean and Dirty- When the movie first started everybody's face is clean but in the end they're all covered in soot and blood.

Youth and Maturity- Upham started out not knowing anything and asking questions about everything. At the very end of the movie he finally realizes that he has to mature and start to take charge.

The Dead Soldier- the dead soldier symbolizes what could happen to everybody if they're not careful. It could also represent the possible future.

The Flag- The flag represents what they died for and what it cost them.
The letter- This represents what everybodys family is going to hear when they get the news that they died.