The Things They Carried

Summary: The first story opens with an examination of what Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries which except for gear is everything from Martha. Cross has letters from Martha and two photographs along with a good luck pebble that he carries in his mouth. Cross cherishes all these especially in the late afternoon after a days march where he can reminisce over their memories and wonder whether she is a virgin or not. Cross wants Martha to love him back but understands that when she signs "Love Martha" it means something different. The things they carried were determined on their survival factor, personality, rank, and priorities. All men carry the weight of memory and the Vietnam war itself. Every solider had a load to "hump". Tim O'Brien also discusses the story of when Lavender was shot and killed. He gives us little to work with but we know so far that he was walking back from going to the restroom and was shot and dropped "like cement". Lieutenant Cross accepts the blame for this incident and burns everything Martha sent and gave him.

Reflection: Lieutenant Cross blames his fantasizing of Martha and their life together after the war on the death of Lavender because it caused him to be negligent. This tells me that Cross is going to be someone who is very hard on themselves but will make changes if necessary. Martha was a major part of the lieutenant and he did his best to delete  her from his life. Tim O'Brien, I believe, uses weight to portray the toll of the war on the men. Even the weights that vary such as for the different jobs like the medic carries more weight as he has a larger responsibility than an ordinary soldier because he will be trying to save the injured. Most of the emotional weight is inexperience and youth. They are conflicted when their friend Lavender dies because as they are sad they also have a sense of relieve that they are still alive.