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Ted Lavender In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1822 Words8 Pages

The excerpt from the story “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a story of Triumph, and yet in such a melancholy way. I am glad that Lieutenant Cross was able to overcome his daydreaming and lead his men, yet at what cost. The lot of all the men outlined in his platoon seems a grim one. O’Brien sets the story in Vietnam, though this is not explicitly mentioned, the characters surroundings, the equipment they and their enemies possess, and the names of the cities make this evident. The setting is absolutely pertinent to the story. Throughout this story you hear the voice of an omniscient narrator telling you everything that is going on. The narrator knows what the characters think and say, even giving insight into what the characters …show more content…

He is the pivot in the story, and yet a side detail. Lavender’s first mention in the story on the second page says three things about him. He carried tranquilizers, he was scared, and he was shot in the head. The narrator quite nicely glosses over him. Consider this, did Lavender carry the tranquilizers because he was scared, or did the tranquilizers define his sense of fear. The list of the possessions of Ted Lavender is unimpressive: toilet paper, water, tranquilizers, premium dope, and the poncho that carried him away. One more thing O’Brien said he carried, and that was his unweighed fear. Everything he carried was carried to help him escape his fear. Henry Dobbins falls into the archetype of burly and steadfast. He has a girlfriend and he likes to eat pound cake. Dave Jensen should rather be called Dr. Jensen because of his preparedness; the things he carries seem to imply a certain preparedness. He has Foot powder to protect their feet, earplugs to protect their hearing, vitamins to enhance their vision. However Jensen is not all nobility and science. He carries a rabbit’s foot for a good luck charm and he steals soap from hotels. Lavender’s equipment. Crosses equipment seems standard for a platoon leader and uninteresting to his character development (other than the articles he carries from Martha). Kiowa has an interesting name. Not only is the name of a Native American tribe, it is also the name of a …show more content…

Although the necessary things they carried may have provided them with more practical use, it seems that the odds and ends the found sentimental or comforting that were also in their rucksack seemed imperative to keep them psychologically intact. What all of these men have in common, along with any one of us, is a mission to keep their composure while under pressure. Joe Smith doesn’t see the same kind of pressure in his life time as that of a Jimmy Cross, but perhaps that’s why this is such a poignant example. When you’re on the verge of shitting your pants at any moment, and you’re rolling on the ground shooting your m-16 carelessly, you’re bringing shame upon yourself and you’re not getting the job done. While they all agreed that those who shot their own toe off to go home were candy-asses, they also all daydreamed of flying off home. In this unified daydream they solidified their sense of mission that they must endure until death, or until it’s over, by any means possible. Lavender escaped through his tranquilizers and dope, Cross escaped through his thoughts of Martha, only to be violently swept back in by Lavender’s death. David Jensen remained steadfast in his preparedness, taking every precaution for that of himself and for that of his teammates. Though they all coped with their grim dark humor, Mitchell Sanders dulled the atrocity of

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He does not carry heavy things as his peers. In Spring of April he was shot to death. In addition, again and again of Ted Lavender’s relates to the plot by implying that there are more deaths to come in the war. His death is repeated frequently in the book “ shot in the head” from page number two and on page number three “ Ted Lavender was shot”.

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Tim Obrien’s 1990 story “The Things They Carried” describes the experience of a group of soldiers in the Vietnam War. The soldiers are under the responsibility of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. With Jimmy, he carries his love for Martha, and it distracts him from his duty. In the end, he tries to forget Martha because he thinks the death of Ted Lavender is his fault because he was distracted. Respectively, each soldier carries assets that are material and mental.

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He is responsible for the death of Lavender. Through his guilt, Lieutenant Cross arrives at the realization that Martha will never love him in the way he wants her to, and his love for her turns into hatred. Cross, to ease his guilt, burns Martha’s letters and photographs. As the fire reduces Martha’s photographs and

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When Lyman was looking at the picture it dawned on him, unlike the car, Henry cannot be repaired. The dark truth behind the mental image of Henry’s brother shows that his soul did not return back from Vietnam. Lyman’s avoidance of the photograph shows the murkiness behind the photograph. His detail of the photograph creates a mental image of Henry’s suffering and distance from reality he could never overcome. He hides this photograph in his closet because he would never get to understand what his brother went through while being imprisoned.

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Dravlyn Hoskins English 11 Mroczkiewicz May 5 2023 Courage and Cowardice in The Things They Carried The Things They Carried has many characters who could fit the bill of both courage and cowardice such as Tim O’Brien, Norman Bowker, and Jimmy Cross. A person that could be suitable for being both courageous and cowardly is LT Jimmy Cross. He is in love with a girl named Martha, and spends the majority of the chapter “The Things They Carried,” daydreaming about Martha.

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After, David killed Goliath, he went to live in a different town because his enemies were many. David was constantly chased by enemies from his hometown and neighboring villages. David had a friend whose name was Jonathan. Jonathan was a prince and his father were the king of Israel and one of David's enemies. David and Jonathan often hunted together and played games together.

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It was his way of coping…” (218) Readers sympathize with and pity Lavender, “who was scared,” who couldn't quite handle the stress of war and resorted to taking tranquilizers—before being killed in the very first chapter. At first glance, readers are restricted to the blinders of our narrator’s perspective. Each soldier had to face his fear of war, and

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The Things We Carry Can Be Similar to Others But They All Have Different Meanings. “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.” (O’Brien 7) In the book The Things They Carried the soldiers are at war and there is a list given for each soldier of the items he carried.

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The Things They Carried “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story set during the Vietnam War. In the story, O’Brien lists many different items soldiers in the Alpha Company carried with them as they humped across the rugged terrain. Many carried necessities such as rations, matches, ammunition and things of that nature; however, many soldiers also carried quite peculiar objects such as condoms, pantyhose, and M&Ms. Readers can grasp a closer insight of the characters’ lives after further examination of the symbolism and meaning of the things they carried.

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Lavender “went to heavy on tranquilizers” (O'Brien 31) to help him deal with the fear and uncertainty of combat. He is described as being "scared" and "nervous" throughout the book, and his drug use is a way for him to escape the reality of the war (O'Brien 31). However, Lavender's coping mechanism ultimately fails him, as he is killed while under the influence of drugs. His death serves as a reminder of a reminder that sometimes your coping mechanisms will not save you from the thing you are running

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(100). Their minds were their own worst enemies. The soldiers would imagine their worst fears and end up scaring themselves over nothing. As for, “Ted Lavender, who was scared” (99), his fear cost him his life, but the fear of dying was not the heaviest burden these soldiers carried

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His infatuation distracts him, and he cannot keep his focus. I too have had been in time moment where I used my infatuation for someone as a distraction for my mental turmoil, and even though I wasn’t in war, I knew that it was heavily distracting. He even admits this on page 628, where he talks about how he could not keep his head straight and he would just “…slip into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore, carrying nothing.” Eventually he blames himself for Lavender's death, but it is my belief that his death was caused by Lavender himself. He may be responsible for them, but Lavender is also responsible for making his own decisions and it was his decision to cope with drugs.

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As they came across a photo of Ted Lavender, Cross expresses how he believe that Lavender’s death was his fault. They later switch from coffee to alcohol and try to focus on stories that were not so sad. Later that night when the mood has lightened up, O’Brien asked Cross about Martha. Cross told O’Brien of a story of how they met once again at their college reunion. At the reunion, Cross learned that

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510 Words | 3 Pages

In the story, "The Things They Carried" a narrator describes the life of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The narrator lists what some of the soldiers carried during their experience in the war, emotional and tangible. Tim O'Brien presents the character of Ted Lavender, an obviously frightened soldier, in order to be a spokeperson to symbolize obvious stress within soldiers during their journey. He presents the character of Kiowa, a devoted Baptist, in order to represent how some of the soldiers cope with the exorbitant amount of stress. Tim O'Brien characterizes Ted Lavender as stressed and frightened in order to portray fright during the war within soldiers.

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613 Words | 3 Pages

Also, the tranquilizers shows the way Ted Lavender uses to cope with the reality of the war. ● Extra ammunition Ted Lavender carried 34 rounds of ammunition, but the typical load of ammunition was 25. The extra ammunition shows that Ted Lavender was scared and precautious. Although Lavendar took precautions by carrying extra ammunition, he was still killed. This is ironic because the extra ammunition was meant to protect him, but it weighed him down and made him fall quicker when he was killed.

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