Character Analysis Of OBrien's The Things They Carried

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things the soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to the symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional standpoint of being young men out at war.

The central theme of the story is the age-old conflict of life and death. On a more personal level with First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the round character and protagonist of "The Things They Carried", it is a conflict of love, his antagonist and of war.

He had touched these items day by day, wondering who had been beside her while she had retrieved the pebble from the beach, or who placed the shadow in the photo of her. His mind would race day and night, making it difficult for him to provide adequate attention on the war. Cross “would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep their eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore; with Martha, carrying nothing” (396). Cross would hope for nothing more than to be carrying nothing. These physical objects weighed him down terribly after the death of Ted Lavender. He had loved Martha much more than his men, and due to his overpowering love he had lost one of them. The pebble was not only a symbol of importance to Cross as he dealt with the trauma of war, but as the physical weight he carried due to the death of his man. These physical symbols helped to identify a shift in the story when Cross decides to open up and make a change to the way he is coping with the war after Lavender’s death. This “wouldn’t help Lavender, he knew that, but from this point on he would comport himself as an officer” (403).

O'Brien's The Things They Carried O’Connor remarks “The Things They Carried” is a short story that is written “as an experience not an abstraction” and that “the meaning has been embodied in it”. These quotations are truly pure in description and interpretation of the short story as the reader, must look beyond the crude physical properties of the objects and actions chronicled and focus more upon their hidden meanings and messages. O’Brien uses the physical characteristics of weight to make an impact upon the reader to relate with the men. In emphasizing the soldier’s everyday burden, the reader can easily relate to the situation in general. As the story progresses, the main attention of the

Lieutenant Cross was in love with a girl back home named Martha. He carried around letters that she wrote to him and pictures that she gave him. His obsession of Martha took his focus away from the war. “He had loved Martha more than his

This statement suggests that he wants to taste her, yet they have not (or will not) kiss each other. Furthermore, this provides evidence that his insatiable love for her is a weighty test for Lt. Cross -- and this burdensome weight drives Lt. Cross to become detached from important situations. Psychologically, Martha's letters make Lt. Cross fixated on his love, which the reader supposes is unreciprocated by Martha. Clearly, Lt. Cross wants a mutually loving relationship with Martha, evidenced when the narrator states, "More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her" (434). Twice in the first two pages, Lt. Cross notes, "They were not love letters" (434). Furthermore, when Martha's salutation, ?Love, Martha,' is mentioned, Lt. Cross sadly resigns and "understood that ?Love' was only a way of signing and did not mean what he sometimes pretended it meant" (435). These thoughts are not obsessive in and of themselves, but the fact that Lt. Cross mulls over these overwhelming feelings while leading a group of soldiers suggests that Martha is an inordinate weight on Lt Cross' shoulders.

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, O’Brien created several allusions that each character endured during the Vietnam War. Throughout the story were vast representations of the things soldiers carried both mentally and physically. The things they carried symbolized their individual roles internally and externally. In addition to symbolism, imagination was a focal theme that stood out amongst the characters. This particular theme played a role as the silent killer amongst Lt. Cross and the platoon both individually and collectively as a group. The theme of imagination created an in depth look of how the war was perceived through each character which helped emphasize their thoughts from an emotional stand point of being young men out at war.

He begins by explaining that Jimmy Cross has an obsession, and her name is Martha. “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack” (pg. 1, line 1). Although Jimmy Cross wished they were love letters he would still continue to go crazy about them. ”He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there.” (pg.1, line 9) Jimmy Cross could not wait to see Martha as he continued to constantly have her on his mind. While constantly thinking about Martha, Lavender continues to be briefly mentioned then after, Jimmy Cross starts blaming himself for the death of Lavender, but the platoon knows they must move on, as the emotional effect of this story begins to lean towards the physical state of mind on the war, such as the weapons and explosives. This starts to calm down the narrator and his emotional level, however the constant reminder of not seeing Lavender, triggers his emotions and finally continues to bring up more detail about what happened after the death. This brings out the more emotional side of the story and the narrator explains what Lieutenant Cross thinks about the death of Lavender since he could not stop thinking

The Things They Carried is about a group of soldiers set during the Vietnam War. We are first introduced to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in the jungle setting of Vietnam. At first glance the reader is submerged into his secrete obsession with a women named Martha. He carries letters from her enjoys fantasies involving the two and even has gone as so far as to lick an envelope just because she did all in the name of love or his version of it. Love is an emotion felt by every human being no matter age or period of time.

Jimmy Cross carries a picture of his love, Martha, with him every step he takes has he fights in the Vietnam War. He has a picture of her playing volleyball and a picture of her leaning against a wall. As he daydreams about Martha, Jimmy Cross feels hope and motivation to fight through the war and make it home to see his love. Martha does not love him back but Jimmy still fantasies about all the things he wants to experience with Martha. Because of Jimmy’s love for Martha and how he can look at the photos all night and day, these pictures symbolize hope and motivation but also distraction. The photos are a distraction to Jimmy. While he is thinking about the photos and dreaming of Martha, his men have died due to his distraction. The morning after Ted Lavender died he burned the pictures and the letters, but he knew he “couldn’t burn the blame” (494). After he burned the letters he remembers that, “...his

In the first chapter in the book, titled The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross is one of the many examples throughout the novel in where a soldier has a way to escape from the realities of war. Cross, who is a lieutenant in his company, carries two photographs of a girl named Martha whom he truly loves and wishes nothing else but to be with her in the end. Along with the photographs, he carries letters from Martha herself as well as her good-luck pebble in his mouth. Martha’s letters has a huge impact on Cross’s escape on reality because those letters do not mention war at all but for him to stay safe. All of these items comforts Cross and eventually reminisce about the times when he was back home with Martha away from any war. He relives a moment when he was with Martha at the movies, and then remembers that he touched her knee but Martha did not approve and pushed his hands away. Now while he’s in Vietnam, he does nothing but fantasizes taking her to her bed, tying her up, and touching that one knee knee all night long.

One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way

Many life events occurred following this platoon of soldiers that will forever be remembered. Tim O'Brien once said, “The thing about remembering is that you won't forget” (pg #). Through war, many tragedies, excitement, and small unforgettable events that happened with these soldiers. They will never forget the burdens, shame, and the deaths and mortality they experienced in the Vietnam War. The novel The Things They Carried by Tim ‘O'Brien is about Vietnam war stories. O’Brien also appears in the books as the protagonist. In this platoon, he is led by Jimmy Cross, the shepherd of the group. His other comrades in the squad are Norman Bowker, Henry Dobbins, and lastly Rat Kiley. They all have their own variety of stories to express the baggage of deaths, internal struggles, and

First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a very important character in “The Things They Carried” . Jimmy Cross was the Platoon leader for Alpha Company. Cross it just like some other people in the war, he was drafted. It was sad that a innocent teen had to be sent to war to be forced to fight. Though he doesn't want to be here, he does his hardest to help win this fight and protect his men. In the beginning of the book Cross has trouble leading his men because he is always thinking about this girl back home named Martha that he is obsessed with. He carries around pictures of Martha that she had sent to him and a pebble that she gave him. Cross obsession with Martha is how he feels comfort but, eventually it causes him neverending guilt and "He had loved

The factor that influenced the author in his decision to publish this novel was his desire to share his stories with the world. Stories can be told different ways, depending on how a person chooses to remember it. Each chapter refers to a different soldier and time period in the war and is not told in chronological order. O’Brien had a lot of regrets about the war that still haunt him and are the things that he “carried” all the way to today. He has faith that storytelling is the best way for him to negotiate the pain of death and war.