"The Things They Carried" By Tim O'Brien

          “The Thing They Carried” illustrates both subjective and objective baggage carried by a solider. Even though a solider is at war, they will still reminisce about their prior civilian life. The personal emotions they had before the war remained their during the war. “On occasion he 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. Sun and waves and gentle winds, all love and lightness”(345). First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's priority was for the safety of his men, but his love for Martha had overpowered that responsibly. Cross was unable to focus on the task at hand. Instead his emotional burdens of Martha was all he could think about. “Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma”(342). In my opinion Kiowa carried the New Testament with him because it was given to him by his father. It's as though he has his father by his side in a time of war. “Lieutenant Cross kept to himself. He pictured Martha's smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her”(344). Lieutenant Cross will always blame himself for the death of Lavender. He was so obsessed with his infatuation for Martha that he let it affect his duties to his men. The emotional baggage he had about Martha now created a greater burden that will follow him for the rest of his life, the death of Lavender. These men had one of the biggest burdens of all, the survival of the men that marched with them. The soldiers not only had subjective issues, but they also had to endure objective burdens. “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water”(341). Not only had they carried the above items they were also responsible for all of their gear and weapons. These men had to carry out their fallen solider as well, “In April, for instance, when Ted Lavender was shot, they used his poncho to wrap him up, then to carry him across the paddy, then to lift him into the chopper that took him away”(342). These men had so much weight on their shoulder both physically and emotionally. It didn't mater if they had one hundred pounds of gear on them, their emotional baggage weighted just as much if not more.