Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and his comrades are physically weakened by the war and imagery of Vietnam itself. Most soldiers are deployed to undesired places during wartime causing them to carry physical burdens. For Jimmy and his platoons “they carried the land itself – Vietnam, the place, the soil – a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity” (475). The imagery of Vietnam illustrates an undesired setting, a place full of dirt and humidity creates a displeasing atmosphere. Not only are the soldiers full of dust, they are weak because they are carrying the atmosphere, figuratively speaking, the burdens of war. The gravity they carry can be interpreted as the world being a heavy load on their shoulders. In addition to the dirt and weight, they are hounded by the sticky weather and stench of fungus. The narrator sets up a rough setting and illustrates that the Vietnam War drastically affects these soldiers; they carry more than physical hardships. When in an unknown setting, one cannot help but feel scared, sad and confused. But in order to continue through the discomforts, each character holds onto their memories of hope and salvation.
The main character, Lt. Cross is a dynamic protagonist. Aside from carrying his weapons, he carried fear and loneliness. In the beginning of the story, he is portrayed as a young boy in love. But by the end of the story he is described as a man, a leader ready to fight in the war. The hope he held onto was solely based on Martha’s gifts and her letters. O’Brien writes, “In the first week of April, before Lavender died, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross received a good-luck charm from Martha. It was a simple pebble, an ounce at most. Smooth to the touch, it was milky-white color with flecks of orange and violet, oval-shaped, like a miniature egg” (471). Although the pebble was salty, he carried it in his mouth on humid days. This good luck charm symbolized a piece of Martha, it symbolized his love for her and hope that war would be over soon and one day be alongside her. The days were rough but day dreaming about her helped him get through the terror of the missions in Vietnam. However, after Lavender’s death, Lt. Cross “crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters. Then he burned the two photographs” (479). As a human being, one might justify their burdens by crushing the memories. That is the case for Lt. Cross. The burning of the letters symbolized that Cross was ready to give up his memories and hope. He was to fulfill his main purpose in the war, which was to lead. The burden of Lavender’s death lingered on his shoulders, but to ease the weight off he felt that he had to burn Martha’s gifts. Sadly, the reader can also see the loving and peaceful side of Cross burning with those letters. In order to fulfill his main purpose in war, he had to give up these other very human qualities.
Several of the other soldiers are archetypal characters but the items they carry also symbolize human longings. One of them carried “his New Testament and a pair of moccasins for silence,” representing the silent Indian type, and one of the others “carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter,” representing the sexual needs of a soldier (472). However, the bible and moccasins both also symbolize hope. That soldier carried the burden of death and by doing so attempts to avoid death by taking all precautions. Whether it is praying to his God or trotting quietly, the soldier tries to ease his burdens by holding onto hope. The symbolic pantyhose around the soldier’s neck represents love and comfort. His mental escape from the war is his girlfriend’s pantyhose. Tim O’Brien creates symbolism through the characters to portray the soldier’s individuality and show how they deal with the emotional and physical burdens of the Vietnam War. In doing so, O’Brien narrates more of the characters thoughts rather than dialogue.
By narrating in third person point of view, O’Brien emphasizes the need of soldiers to ease emotional pain by holding onto memories. As an omniscient narrator, he is able to transpose the soldiers’ feelings and thoughts especially during times of discomfort. When caught in a distressing situation, Lt. Cross immediately shuts off his commander post and runs into the fantasies of Martha. When inspecting a tunnel, he “leaned down, and examined the darkness. Trouble, he thought – a cave-in maybe. And then suddenly, without willing it, he was thinking about Martha” (473). Lt. Cross is afraid that his fellow soldier was trapped in a cave. But instead of planning a rescue for his trooper, he began to plan and imagine his entrapment if he and Martha were in the cave. Since there is no dialogue between the characters, the audience heavily relies on the narrator’s comments to reveal what is running in the character’s mind. Lt. Cross carries fear and anxiety during troubled times. By using a third person omniscient narrator, O’Brien is better able to show that, soldiers often use the cherished memories of love and comfort to cope with the fears and anxiety of war, for better or for worse.
Whether or not one is a soldier, the weight of any burden can be tiresome. One can be involuntarily placed in undesired situations, such as many of the young men that were drafted into the Vietnam War. When faced with emotional and physical burdens, like Jimmy cross and his fellow soldiers, one can only rely on memories of hope and love for escape. Though one would like to believe that hope, love and comfort will always help a person cope and ease the weight of burdens, O’Brien’s story calls this into question by using Jimmy Cross’s experience with Martha and his loss of some human qualities when he burns her letters. It is through this that O’Brien shows the true horrors of war.
Works Cited
O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.” Literature and its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 468-481. Print.
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