Its interesting to think about the things people might carry with them if they were forced to go to war. Would you sacrifice a little extra weight to bring a good luck charm, or an extra gun and ammunition to provide more safety? In Tim OBriens The Things They Carried, much of the story is spent describing the certain weapons, materials, and emotional burdens the men in Viet Nam carried. Even though some soldiers, such as Mitchell Sanders, carry extremely heavy objects like the PRC-25 radio, a killer, twenty-six pounds with its battery, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross shows the reader that the heaviest things men carry with them are usually emotional, rather than physical (1067). In Lieutenant Cross case, the heaviest thing he carries with him is his love for his friend Martha. After one of his men is killed, Cross puts the blame on himself and his silly obsession for Martha. To try and prevent any future casualties or problems that would be caused by this obsession, he decides to burn her photos and letters to try and help him forget about her. OBrien presents an interesting argument to the reader in this story: does the weight of an emotional burden such as love keep you alive, or kill you? Through Jimmy Cross decision to burn Marthas letters and photos, OBrien attempts to explain how this seemingly sentimental gesture is a symbolic way for Cross to relieve some of the weight brought on by his passionate love for her, and how this sentimental act relates to other events occurring in Viet Nam, such as the burning of Than Khe. His stupid, sentimental gesture leads him to realize what he always knew, but never accepted; his love for Martha was not mutual, and the emotional burden of his love for her wasnt worth the risk to him and his men.
The event that leads Jimmy Cross to burning his letters and photos of Martha occurs when he is daydreaming about her, while one of his men, Lee Strunk, is checking out a tunnel. As he is daydreaming vaguely, he was aware of how quiet the day was, the sullen paddies, yet he could not bring himself to worry about matters of security (1071). Even though Cross knows something isnt quite right, he cant gather himself to survey the situation, and possibly save Ted Lavender from being shot. Cross explains that he was just a kid at war, in love, and that he couldnt help it (1071). Cross failure to protect his men with the best of his ability is part of what leads him to burn Marthas photos and letters; however, before he burns these materials, he and his platoon display what might be considered a similar act related to this decision.
After a helicopter takes Lavenders body away, Cross leads his men into a village named Than Khe.
They burned everything. They shot chickens and dogs, they trashed the village well, they called in artillery and watched the wreckage, then they marched for several hours through the hot afternoon, and then at dusk, while Kiowa explained how Lavender died, Lieutenant Cross found himself trembling. He tried not to cry (1073).
This description of the platoons actions after Ted Lavender is killed shows how ruthless these men are after a situation like Lavenders death occurs. While OBrien doesnt tell the reader they are attacking this village in redemption for the loss of their friend, OBrien emphasizes this could be the case by mentioning some of the seemingly pointless actions they perform, such as shooting the chickens and dogs. These actions make it appear to be more of an act of revenge to attempt to cope with their feelings of anger and fear, rather than an operation to find and kill the Vietnamese possibly responsible for Lavenders death. By burning this village to the ground, Jimmy Cross and his soldiers could be attempting to give meaning to Lavenders death. Without meaning, the men cannot have closure and, as seen by Cross mind-set after they burn the village, these acts of revenge dont always help.
Since the burning of the village didnt seem to ease Cross mind, would the burning of Marthas photos and letters? The burning of the photos and letters seems to also be a way for Cross to cope with the failure of letting one of his men die. By burning them, not only is he attempting to prevent this distraction from happening again, but also hes trying to find a sense of closure on the event that took place. His failure to find closure by burning the village of Than Khe leaves him searching for ways to cope with Lavenders death. Since he believes his daydreaming about Martha is what caused his failure to protect Lavender, he comes to the important conclusion that he must free himself from the emotional burden of this love he has for Martha. The only way he thinks of accomplishing this is destroying Marthas pictures and letters, which every night he would hold with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending (1065). It was this pretending that caused him to lose focus the day Lavender was shot.
While he wants to believe that destroying these love mementos will allow him to forget about his love for Martha, he knows deep down its only a stupid gesture. He knows that just as it was with the burning of the village, you couldnt burn the blame (1077). He knows that no matter how hard he tries, no action taken by him can change the fact that Lavender is dead, and even if he no longer has the letters and photos of Martha he could see Martha playing volleyball in her white gym shorts and yellow T-shirt (1077). Through this quote we see how even without the pictures and letters, he is still overwhelmed by his love for her, and that she still looms in memories. This may lead the reader to agree with Cross that the burning of the photos and letters is in fact stupid; however, after he destroys them, he finally comes to terms with the fact that Martha doesnt love him the way he loves her.
Even though at first he doesnt believe burning the photos and letters will help, he finally realizes that in those burned letters Martha had never mentioned the war, except to say, Jimmy, take care of yourself. She wasnt involved. She signed the letters Love, but it wasnt love, and all the fine lines and technicalities did not matter (1077). This realization by Cross has great significance because here he seems to come to the resolution that all the weight that his love for Martha forces him to carry isnt worth it if she doesnt truly love him back. Through this, OBrien shows the reader that Cross has come to the decision that the less weight one carries the better. This is also emphasized through the description Kiowa gives about Lavenders death: Like Cement, Kiowa whispered in the dark. I swear to God boom-down. Not a word (1074). Kiowas description of Lavenders body falling like cement illustrates the extreme physical and emotional burdens Lavender was carrying. Cross explains early on how Lavender was scared and aside from all the physical things he carried, he also carried the unweighed fear (1068). Lavenders death plays a crucial role in the development of Cross and his decision to burn his memories of Martha. Cross actions illustrate how he decides that these heavy, emotional burdens wont keep you alive; theyll kill you. Therefore, it can be argued that Cross decision to burn the photographs and letters may not have been so stupid after all. He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence. It wouldnt help Lavender, he knew that, but from this point on he would comport himself as a soldier (1078). It appears that his ability to burn away his physical ways to remember Martha allows him to find the strength to put her and his guilt about Lavender out of his mind as well.
Its ironic that by burning the lightest physical things Cross carries, he releases the most weight that was being put on him. By burning the letters and photos he comes to terms with the fact Martha doesnt love him, which takes great amounts of emotional weight off of his shoulders, allowing him to conduct himself as a leader and a soldier. While he believes burning the photos and letters was a stupid gesture, it appears this sentimental act allows him to let her go.
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