The young lieutenant blames himself for Lavender's death as he realizes that his love for Martha had prevented him from properly guiding and protecting his men. When the dark falls upon the Alpha Company, Cross digs a foxhole and stands at its bottom weeping. "In part he was grieving for Ted Lavender, but mostly it was for Martha, and for himself, because she belonged to another world [...] and because he realized she did not love him and never would." (O'Brien)
The morning following Ted's death, Lieutenant Cross throws Martha's photographs and letters in the foxhole and sets them on fire. This moment represents the character's change in feelings and behavior. Now that he realizes the seriousness of war and his true responsibilities, he swears to forget about love and only concentrate on his platoon. He no longer wants his daydreams and memories of Martha to occupy his mind. And he will properly instruct his men, even if they do not like it. He understands that a lieutenant has to protect his men even if this means putting aside his social life.
By burning the photographs...
Things They Carried and in the Field The novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is an episodic account of Alpha Company, a platoon of American soldiers and their experiences during the Vietnam conflict. We will focus on two chapters of the book, "The Things They Carried," and "In the Field." These are the only chapters in the book that are told from an omniscient point-of-view. Both of these
W.B. Yeats' poem An Irish Airman Foresees His Death illustrates the close proximity life shares with death much like The Things They Carried. Yeats' poem is brief and in the first person describes an Irish military man explaining his decision to fight in a war in which he foresees his inevitable death. This relates to O'Brien's short story in that both protagonists understand their life is near an end due
psychological consequences of war, of fighting in a war, of eating and sleeping in a "war zone," are not merely limited to the implications of witnessing and partaking in death; war deeply influences the mental attitudes of those involved because of the organizational framework of power and authority that soldiers are subject to. The common assumption is that soldiers' troubles coping with war are somehow linked to the extraordinary
Tim Obrien's "The Things They Carried" Short story College English (Literature) class. MLA Format. Carried Away There are several instances of repetition in Tim O'Brien's short story "The Things They Carried," which is actually the first chapter in a book he published with the same title. Rhetorically, the author uses both alliteration and anaphora (which is, respectively, the repetition of syllables and the repetition of words or phrases) to punctuate many
It is a hotly contested idea that just one war-themed book can adequately discuss the topic of Vietnam, and this idea is properly portrayed in this book. Fellow authors like Renny Christopher have condemned Tim O'Brien's story for paying more attention to the misery of the American soldiers and less interest in the Vietnamese. However, the core of "The Things They Carried," O'Brien's work is distinct. Another author, Heberle, who
Critical Analysis The Things They Carried is a fictional work published by Tim O’Brien in 1990 that depicts the experiences of several American soldiers dealing with boredom and trauma during the Vietnam War. It comprises twenty-two interrelated short stories on the experience and traumatic aftermath of the Vietnam War with the first piece focusing on the things these soldiers carried to the battlefield. Martha is one of the female characters in
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