A Soldier's Burden 'By Tim O' Brien

A Soldier’s Burden Tim O’Brien’s short story’s central theme is the burden of war all soldiers face. The story takes place in Vietnam, with Lieutenant Cross leading a small team of soldiers. Distracted by thoughts of home and unrequited love, Lieutenant Cross witnesses the death of one of his soldiers. The story follows Lavender’s death and the weight it places on his fellow men. O’Brien uses the soldier’s equipment and personal items to contrast the mental and physical baggage each man carries. The weight of each item and piece of equipment is used to further illustrate the toll the war takes on its participants. O’Brien mentions the weight of their gear early in the story. The narrator, Cross, lists the standard equipment every soldier carries

Although they each share a common burden, they all bear their own personal burdens. Soldiers must deal with their mortality daily while in combat. Cross uses his letters and pictures to escape the battlefield. An escape to simpler times, with pictures being the most common keepsake. The narrator states, “almost everyone humped photographs,” carrying them wherever they went. Cross carries “the responsibility for the lives of his men,” another burden placed on his shoulders. His priorities are misplaced; he fails in his mission to protect the lives of his soldiers. This weighs heavily on his conscience. Eventually, he dispenses with his unneeded burdens to step up and properly lead his men. Cross trades one burden for another, placing the blame for Lavender’s death on his shoulders. Lavender’s death releases him from his burdens. O’Brien uses the imagery of the men scavenging his equipment to show the men taking on the burden of his death. Each man faces his death in his own way, some responding in anger and others in disbelief. Cross remarks: “He went down under an exceptional burden,” yet his burdens were meaningless once he