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Love In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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Love is a mystery, some people are lucky enough to solve the case while others are subjected to giving up on it. Many times we believe that love is easy, a walk in the park. We read many stories where is love a beautiful thing that falls upon the characters and things end happily ever after. However the beautiful thought of love is dangerous and can be known to cause a ton of pain. In Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried”, it was discussed very thoroughly about the soldiers fighting a war in Vietnam, and discussed the things that they carried. One character in general Lieutenant Jimmy Cross described all of the things he carried. He spoke many times about the pebble that the love of his life Martha had given him. He repeated the words that Martha had written explained to Lt Cross …show more content…

On the day that Ted Lavender was shot and killed, Lt Cross, wasn’t himself. He was on cloud nine, daydreaming about Martha. His mind wasn’t in the right place and he felt weird, and then it happened. Lavender was shot in the head just as Lee Strunk had crawled out of the tunnel. At that very moment Lt Cross began to blame himself. Lt Cross thought “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” (p567). This is when the story began to turn. Lt Cross became overwhelmed with guilt, he blamed himself for the death of Lavender. If only he could keep the thoughts of Martha's letters, and face out of his mind, he would be able to guide his team safely through this war. “...yet he could not bring himself to worry about matters of security” (pp 570), this is when Lt Cross realized that it was he who was in charge of the team, and the emotional heartfelt daydreaming had cause the loss of one of this

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670 Words | 3 Pages

Shame and self-hatred surface when Lieutenant Cross realizes “…Ted Lavender [is] dead because he [loves] her [Martha] so much and [cannot] stop thinking about her” (326). Furthermore, the pebble that once symbolized his affection for Martha is replaced with a figurative “stone in his stomach” (332), representative of his guilt. In order to begin to remove his distracting infatuation with Martha, Cross takes the following action: “On the morning after Ted Lavender [dies], First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross [crouches] at the bottom of his foxhole and [burns] Martha’s letters. Then he [burns] the two photographs” (336). Cross’ burning of Martha’s letters and photographs is a physical representation of the transformation in his personality and priorities.

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176 Words | 1 Pages

I do believe that Lieutenant Cross is responsible for Lavender 's death. Lieutenant Cross was a leader and being a leader comes with a lot of responsibilities. His first priority should have been to protect his men, but he was too hung up on Martha. I understand that they are at war which is very stressful. The thought of death being so near and the thought of never seeing their loved ones must be terrifying .

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1041 Words | 5 Pages

Costing him the life of his friend and brother in combat, Ted Lavender. He never would forgive himself for Lavender’s death, how could he? These men were his responsibility and he was more focused on a girl on the other side of the earth. He felt the weight of guilt crawl slowly up his back and make it’s home deep in his rucksack, never to be relieved. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross wanted to find a way to ease his grieving heart.

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705 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the author skillfully presents a paradox about war and how it is both horrible and beautiful. Through O’Brien’s vivid storytelling and sorrowful anecdotes, he is able to demonstrate various instances which show both the horrible and beautiful nature of war. Within the vulnerability of the soldiers and the resilience found in the darkest of circumstances, O’brien is able to show the uproarious emotional landscape of war with a paradox that serves as the backbone of the narrative. In the first instance, O’Brien explores the beauty in horror within the chapter “Love.”

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270 Words | 2 Pages

Lavender, a soldier of Lietenant Jimmy Cross, was shot and killed under Cross’ watch. Since Lavender was killed under the watch of Cross, the audience can assume how guilty Cross already

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

He is conflicted with the emotional burden of loving Martha and his responsibility to his men. Cross is the Lieutenant of this platoon, meaning that he is their leader and ultimately responsible for the outcome of all their lives. Even though it is easy to see how these men need an escape to help them survive the daily task of fighting, the illusions of being somewhere else can result in additional weight being

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1009 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the text, Cross “could not stop thinking about [Martha]” (p. 116), unable to concentrate on the war or the men he is charged with leading. Consequently, Cross’ distraction and inadequate leadership result in Lavender’s death. Cross finds himself accountable because “he loved [Martha] 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” (p.

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1202 Words | 5 Pages

The story describes in detail the physical equipment each soldier carries, as well as the emotional baggage related to each item. One day, while soldier Ted Lavender is taking a bathroom break, he is shot and killed. Cross proceeds to blame himself for Lavender’s death as he was preoccupied with thoughts of Martha at the moment he was shot. The morning after, Cross digs a foxhole to put Martha’s letters and photos in and burns them. He believes he must let go of these desires to be as great a leader as possible for his troops.

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1305 Words | 6 Pages

From another soldier’s point of view, Cross was a role model and strong. A soldier named Kiowa, who witnessed Ted Lavender being shot in the head and falling straight down, looked up to Lieutenant Cross because of how well he handled grief and because he wanted to care for his brothers as much as Cross cared for his men (O’Brien 397). Kiowa carried his own emotional weight from witnessing the gruesome sight of a fellow soldier dying. While Kiowa wanted to be strong and to handle grief as Cross did, Kiowa could only think of Lavender’s lifeless body falling to the ground (O’Brien

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980 Words | 4 Pages

While explaining Ted Lavender’s death, Jimmy Cross stated “He felt ashamed. He hated the man himself. He loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was dead” (O’Brien 16). The quote discusses how due to Jimmy's thoughts being in his love life it led to the death of his peer Ted Lavender. He states that he felt ashamed, blaming himself for his death.

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1509 Words | 7 Pages

He accepted the blame of Ted Lavender’s death because he was more focused on Martha than he was about his troops. Wesley states that while Jimmy Cross accepts the blame he thinks this will make it all better by accepting heroic responsibility. This relieved the stress upon Cross and made him feel as if he was even more of a leader and not a coward. When Ted Lavender died they treated it as if it was nothing but a daily routine.

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934 Words | 4 Pages

Tim O’Brien states, “Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien 16). In this quote, Tim O’Brien explains that since Jimmy Cross blames himself about Ted Lavender’s death, he will always be in lieutenant’s head. Thus, the lieutenant will always feel the guilt. With this, Tim O’Brien makes the reader think that Jimmy Cross is the person to blame since he is the head of the group and he has to pay more attention to his plans. Having questions about his love, Martha, in his mind instead of being careful about his men is the reason of him feeling guilty that “the lieutenant’s in some deep hurt” (17).

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820 Words | 4 Pages

Jimmy Cross blames himself that Ted’s death is his fault;’’ He would accept the blame for what had happened to Ted Lavender’’( 351) because he did not complete his duty---responsibility for living of his men.--‘’felt shame’’, ‘’hated himself’’, ‘’ grieve for Ted Lavender’’ ( 345). From now, the things Jimmy Cross carries is disappointed, regretful, guilty, and depressed; moreover, Ted Lavender is an obsession for him at this time. Jimmy Cross also realize that Martha is the reason that he can not concentrate on his mission and leads to the death of Ted Lavender; therefore, he decided to ‘’burned the two photographs’’,’’ disposed of his good-luck pebble’’, ‘’ dispense with love’’. Although it is very difficult to get Martha away in his mind, he really loves her so much, it is the only thing that he can do to forget Martha. Now, ‘’ Lieutenant Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead’’.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Cross and his obsession with Martha. Eventually, after a death in the group, LT. Cross was distracted and he decides to burn the letters Martha sent him. “On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First LT. Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters…

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1099 Words | 5 Pages

Jimmy Cross feels ashamed of every death that is caused by the absence of quality leadership on his part. When Ted Lavender dies O’Brien writes that Cross, “ . . . felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (16).

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