Things They Carried Character Analysis

In “The Things They Carried” we learn about Lieutenant Jimmy cross and what he goes through in the Vietnam War. Phoenix Jackson is the protagonist in “A Worn Path” and we learn about what she goes through on her way to the city of Natchez. Both of these characters have a sense of duty that is driving them throughout the stories and we see the differences in the characters is displayed in their sense of duty to their respective missions. Phoenix Jackson’s mission is for her grandson while Lieutenant Cross’s mission is following orders from the Army and carrying out those orders. Phoenix Jackson’s responsibility towards her mission never wavers while Lieutenant Cross’s changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Both characters travel down paths however they are much different in comparison. Even

Phoenix Jackson is on a journey that takes her through many obstacles and hazards. She encounters thorny bushes, barbed wire fences, falling into a ditch and even having a gun pointed at her face on her journey. Even though she encounters all of those dangers she continues on her journey to get the medicine for her grandson with a single minded purpose. She does not waver at all in her determination to complete her quest. Lieutenant Cross is a military officer who seems to have lost his sense of duty at the beginning of “The Things They Carried” and then goes through a transformation after one of his men is killed by a sniper. At the beginning of the story Lieutenant Cross is constantly daydreaming and romanticizing about a girl back home named Martha which distracts him from leading his men like he is supposed to be doing. It is only after one of his men gets killed that he finally realizes that his daydreaming has likely caused the death of one of his men and he then understands that he needs to take responsibility for his men by being the leader that they need him to