Audrey Gray

Mrs. S. Aiken

English 1102-45

13 September 2009
The Various Things They Carried
In the short story, “The Things They Carry”, O’Brien starts by describing how a love sick Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries the hope, fantasy, and romance of a girl name Martha as he perform his daily marching rounds on the war trails of uncertainty. But Lieutenant Cross not only carry these physical things, he along with the other men in his platoon, also carry mental burdens, burdens that by far outweighs anything that is put on a scale for pounds or ounces.
Ted Lavender carried his steel helmet, mainly because it was “standard operating procedure” (1358), along with this he carried his daily artilleries needed to withstand all and any encounters he was to face. He carried his pocketknife, poncho, large bandage, and his tranquilizers. His tranquilizers he used as a mean to escape, a way of dealing and coping with the war itself. Ted also carried another burden, one of fear in which he used his tranquilizers to deaden the pain. Ted’s burden of fear he carried was the heaviest thing of all, which literally destroyed his body both physical and natural and left him spiraling down a dark and bottomless pit of dispair.
Lieutenant Cross carried letters, and pictures from a girl back home name Martha. These letters meant the world to Cross, he kept them in plastic stored away in his bag. When he was alone at night before he would go to sleep, he would always pull these letters out and reminisce that they were love letters and that Martha would be there waiting for him when he arrived home from the war with open arms. This was Lieutenant Cross way of coping with the war it was his way of staying attached to the outside world, a sort of lifeline.
In addition Lieutenant Cross carried a mental responsibility, one that included being responsible for all the men lives in his platoon and the guilt he carried due to the death of one of his soldiers. There are other things that Lieutenant Cross carried such as a compass, binoculars, maps, and other kinds of weapons along with his bravery to stand and be a leader.
Kiowa always carried his New Testament that was given to him by his father. Kiowa used his New Testament as a way to stay connected to his family back home, and also as a way of keeping God close to him whenever he needed Him. Kiowa also carried a pair of moccasins; he used the moccasins for silence, particularly on days of ambush other than that he carried his jungle boots on his feet. Back home Kiowa taught Sunday School and was a big help in helping the other soldiers cope with the reality and horror of war. Kiowa also carried the distrust of his grandmother for the white man (1359) and by doing so he also carried his grandfather’s old hatchet just in case he ran into some hard times.
Throughout the story you have your many different characters that carry many different things. What they all have in common are the things that they carry close to them to help them get through their tough times in this war. What they don’t share in common is the way they deal with them.