Rat Kiley carries comic books. Kiowa carries a copy of the New Testament. The different items introduce the characters that will fill the entire collection. The items they carry are intended to illustrate aspects of their personality. The emphasis is on Ted Lavender, the scared one, who carried tranquilizers.
Even though these men had things they had to carry, they elected to carry more. Storytelling and Memory. Ted Lavender is always very careful, but he's shot dead in April. He's wrapped in an army issued poncho and carried into a chopper. Lavender's death is one of the central events of the story.
Its blunt introduction shows the arbitrariness and suddenness of death. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross walks with pictures of Martha all over Vietnam. He has two pictures of her: one is of her standing against a brick wall, the other is of her playing volleyball in college. He remembers taking Martha on a date to the movies and touching her knee during the final scene until she looked at him and made him move his hand. He remembers kissing her goodnight at her dorm.
Now in Vietnam he wishes that he had taken her upstairs and tied her up and touched her knee all night long. The mundane normality of the pictures is striking—Cross seems to cling to both Martha and the normality.
Cross's fantasies about tying Martha up shows how the violence of war has warped his thinking, but also his essential innocence and inexperience—he just wants to touch her knee. Social Obligation. The things they carry depend on their rank and role. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a lieutenant and so he carries a different kind of gun and the responsibility to protect his men.
Rat Kiley is a medic and carries medical supplies. Henry Dobbins carries extra ammo and an M because he was big. Everyone else carries a standard M with a standard 25 rounds of ammo, but Ted Lavender was carrying 34 rounds and his fear when he was shot outside Than Khe. The list of characters' ranks and positions adds to the reader's understanding of life as a soldier. Cross has the highest rank, and responsibility is his greatest weight.
The soldiers carry not just things but social obligations. Lavender carried extra rounds for protection but still got shot dead, showing death in war does not reward the prepared. Kiowa describes seeing Ted Lavender die and says it was like watching a rock drop to the ground. The men carry him to a chopper and then smoke his dope. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross blames himself for Ted Lavender's death because he loves Martha so much that he's been preoccupied.
They burn Than Khe. Kiowa keeps describing the way Lavender fell when he died. I was a coward. I went to the war. Curt Lemon dies by accidentally stepping on a grenade. In Vietnam, Mary Anne finds the war mysterious and intriguing. She wants to learn about how to live like a soldier and how to use weapons, and falls in with the Green Berets and goes out on patrol with them.
In the end, she goes missing, becoming part of the land. Bowker never adjusts to life after the war and ends up committing suicide as a result.
His story illustrates the way war changes people and the difficulty that soldiers can have readjusting to civilian life. He thought about showing her the village of My Khe, where he felt responsible for the death of the young, slim Vietnamese man, but he takes her to the field where Kiowa died instead.
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross , of the Alpha Company, carries various reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college in New Jersey who has given no indication of returning his love. Cross carries her letters in his backpack and her good-luck pebble in his mouth. Martha is an English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war. He wonders, uncontrollably, about whether or not Martha is a virgin.
He carries her photographs, including one of her playing volleyball, but closer to his heart still are his memories.
They went on a single date, to see the movie Bonnie and Clyde. Now, in Vietnam, Cross wishes that he had carried her up the stairs, tied her to the bed, and touched her knee all night long. He is haunted by the cutting knowledge that his affection will most likely never be returned.
They are things in the most physical sense—mosquito repellent and marijuana, pocket knives and chewing gum. Nervous Ted Lavender carries marijuana and tranquilizers to calm himself down, and the religious Kiowa carries an illustrated New Testament, a gift from his father.
Some things the men carry are universal, like a compress in case of fatal injuries and a two-pound poncho that can be used as a raincoat, groundsheet, or tent. What problems does Norman Bowker struggle with after the war? Back from Vietnam, on the Fourth of July, Norman Bowker is driving the seven-mile loop around the lake over and over again. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.
Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis May 8, What do the characters in The Things They Carried carry? What does Ted Lavender symbolize? Did Rat Kiley kill himself?
Why did Norman Bowker kill himself? Why does Jimmy Cross feel guilty? What does Jimmy Cross blame himself for? Does Martha love Jimmy Cross? What does Jimmy ask Tim to do when he writes the story?
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