Possessions of Character in The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien :: The Things They Carried Vietnam War Essays

Possessions of Character in The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien, contains many references topossessions of character. Many things Lt. Cross carries were carried by all,including military equipment, stationery, photographs, diseases, food, the landof Vietnam itself, their lives, and even more. OBrien highlights these alongwith extra things that Lt. Jimmy Cross carries. He, thus, reveals somethingof what Cross values. Belongings reflect his character and thoughts. Grief,terror, love, longing--these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their ownmass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. Lt. Jimmy Cross carries letters and a pebble from Martha, a girl whom hecares about greatly, but she does not share the same emotions for him. Hecarries these things to re intellect him of her, of his feelings for her. At the endof every day he ritually unwraps them and reads them. These letters are lightin weight, only ten ounces, but prov e to be a heavy burden. Above all, hecarries the debt instrument for the lives of his men. He is dreaming whenLavender is shot, and so he blames himself for it. Lavenders death wassomething which He would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the relaxationof the war. He does not always pay attention to what is most important, hismen. Lt. Jimmy Cross burns all of Marthas letters at the end of the story,trying to bar her, to erase the memory. Still, he carries her in his mindalong with the haunting memory that she was not involved. Martha is just a partof the technicalities now, he bids her farewell in his mind and decides to ridhimself of the pebble. He is past his days of dreaming and hoping. Everythingthat Lt. Cross carries has more physical weight than those letters, but nonewere more of a burden to him.