The Things They Carried
...ities that each soldier had were the only things that kept them sane. Lt. Jimmy Cross repeatedly had thoughts and visions of Martha, left at home. He would read the letters she sent him and wonder about her as a tactic to keep him connected with the real world and the life he had left. “Whenever he looked at the photographs, he thought of new things he should have done” (5). At one point during the war, Martha even sent Cross a simple pebble from the Jersey shoreline - another small connection to the life he used to live, and to which he would someday return. He recalled memories of walks they used to take together, and Cross was able to relieve a few of the burdens of war when he had this pebble. It remained a physical connection to the life to which he was planning to return, and it continued to give him strength, support, and sanity throughout the war. By facing the everyday challenges of commanding a unit through battle, Jimmy Cross was forced to carry more burdens than any other man in his company, both emotionally and physically, and yet he still found a place for these letters and the pebble. They were necessary items for him to remember his purpose in fighting the war, and therefore he needed them just as much as any ammunition, food, or clothing. Other members of Alpha Company used personal effects to remain connected to something outside the war, as well as find comfort for themselves. Dobbins carried a pair of his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck each time he went to battle. Kiowa carried with him always a Bible from his father, a necessity to get through each day. “Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma” (3). During this war, men could not afford to carry anything that was not necessary to their survival. As it was necessary for the soldiers to remain sane, however, these personal effects also became necessities. Ted Lavender carried tranquilizers and, “6 or 7 ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity” (3). O'Brien illustrates to us the necessity for each man to be connected to their old life, telling a story of Mark Fossie flying in his girlfriend to ease his loneliness. Each soldier found himself facing insurmountable barriers throughout the war, and these small effects and coping mechanisms were often the only necessity that would give them reason to return home again. They needed personal methods of coping with the war, and this primeval survival was the only way to remain a man. Sometimes, however, no matter how much a soldier tried to find escapes for themselves, obstacles would come in their way and force men to find other means of coping with reality. Many times this extra stress would come after a soldier killed someone, and felt overwhelming guilt for taking another human life. In The Things they Carried, there are not thousands of examples of this form of death, but we are made aware of one specific story. O'Brien tells us about the man he killed, and the difficulty in releasing his guilt in this matter. He more than once describes the man in great detail, almost attempting to clear the event out of his mind. This is a time when the best coping mechanism the men have is time and open ears. As they drag Tim away from the scene after giving him a few minutes to accept and process the death, Kiowa urges to talk with Tim. “All right, let me ask a question. You want to trade places with him? Turn it all upside down-you want that? I mean, be honest” (126). This is the only way he can eventually rid himself of the horrors of this event, and he needs to be supported at this time by those in his company to be able to survive. This is an event no individual can escape from by himself, and the only way Tim is able to cope with it is to talk with someone who will understand his grief. This is the only mechanism available to him at this time, and it is necessary that he use it to relieve the stress he is feeling and continue his job as a soldier. Also in dealing with death, the men of Alpha Company are required to face death and devastation on a daily basis. In order to cope with this reality, it is often necessary for the man to release anguish in violence or laughter. There are times when they encounter a person dead, and it becomes a ritual to them to shake his hand, talk, and jok...