Perspectives Of Women In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

In The Things They Carried, the author, Tim O’Brien creates a view of women from the perspectives of soldiers as a symbol of innocence and pleasure. The symbol/role of women and femininity is often altered through the eyes of the disparate soldiers. O’ Brien depicts women that reminds some soldiers of their families, while some are reminded of their lovers. Through the presence of women, the soldiers are frequently distracted from their current situation, molding the nature of serenity. Whenever men think of women, it can get them to adjust their focus out of their current situation. Similar to Jimmie Cross, he daydreams about romantic dates with Martha, an English major in New Jersey, and carries her “love” letters everywhere he goes. It

After a long day of marching, “He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing her tongue had been there” (1). The author uses abstract diction to emphasize the strong love Cross maintains for Martha, signifying the huge role Martha plays in Cross’s experience in war. Not long after, Cross’s dreams becomes more exotic. Hoping that Martha is still a virgin, he recalls a story of when he got rejected, It was at "a dark theater, he remembered, and the movie was Bonnie and Clyde, and Martha wore a tweed skirt, and during the final scene, when he touched her knee, she turned and looked at him in a sad, sober way that made him pull his hand back”. Cross continues to like Martha even though he’s aware of Martha’s feelings towards him. It is absolutely sad to see Cross daydreaming about Martha so often when Martha has never returned the love he has given to her. Sooner or later,

The Soldiers are reminded of their lives back home, when Fossie brought his seventeen girlfriend, Mary Anne Bell to Vietnam. “I swear to God, man, she's got on culottes. White culottes and this sexy pink sweater. There she is” (90). When Mary Ann first arrives at Vietnam, her feminine attire immediately reminded the soldiers of their homes, and the innocent little girls that would run around their neighborhoods. Her attire was so americanized, the soldiers felt unusual of their surroundings. Although, the surroundings was also unusual from the way she was dressed. Mary Anne was so divulged into Vietnam, “during her first days in-country she liked to roam around the compound asking questions..”(96). The innocence Mary Anne possess commences to slowly fade away as she starts to get extremely curious about the war/the country. The loss of innocence Mary Anne Bell experiences revives the soldiers memories regarding the time when the soldiers first got drafted, when they were as innocent as her. “Mary Anne made you think about those girls back home, how clean and innocent they all are” (113), but Mary Anne changed drastically. She lost all of the innocence she had left in her. The Vietnam War changed her completely due to all the horrors that come along. She departed from her