The Weight of War

The Things They Carried reveals the inner workings of a platoon that is fighting during the Vietnam War by describing the literal and figurative things that the men carried. The young men are mixed up in a world where it is difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality while also trying to maintain their reputations. Through our knowledge of each of the character’s physical and emotional loads, we discover the personalities of each character. Each description peels away a layer of each character, until the descriptions of “the things they carried” become figurative burdens such as love, heartache, and horror.

The first items such as P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wrist watches, etc. were carried for necessity by all men. The men carry loads that “weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, depending upon a man’s habits or rate of metabolism,” and depending upon the kind of mission they are taking (627). Specifics about each character show that Dobbin’s carries extra rations because he is a big man, Jensen carries hygiene products because he practiced field hygiene, Lavender carries tranquillizers because he is fearful, and Kiowa carries his New Testament and moccasins to keep quiet. These essential items are carried for the purpose of satisfying the soldiers’ physical needs and keeping them safe which leads to their emotional and psychological health.

Also, the men carry tangible items that serve no practical purpose, other than emotional and phychological. Nearly all the men carry photographs of their women left behind which is the first indication of emotional baggage literally and figuratively. Cross carries two pictures of Martha that entrance him and send him down the path of endless daydream. He also carries Martha’s letters that physically weight ten ounces, but have a immense weight in the heart. “Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter,” merely for emotional purposes (629). Lavender carries “six or seven ounces or premium dope, which for him was necessity,” that not only has a physical weight, but also serves to preserve his mental wellbeing (226). The men often “carried each other, the wounded or weak,” which shows their loyalty to one another and feelings of responsibility and honor (631). “The land itself—Vietnam, the place, the soil—a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues their faces” is also a part of their literal load, but also enveloped their minds because it is where they spend all their time and all they have to reflect on, besides their memories of home (631). The men also bear superstition, which leads Cross to carry a good luck pebble and Jensen to carry a rabbit’s foot. Superstition serves as another outlet for their emotions because they can be less fearful if in the past they have dodged death by chance, but attribute the chance to their “good luck charm.” Lastly, the men literally “carried infections…diseases…lice and ringworm and leeches and paddy algae and various rots and mold,” that reveal the danger of being a soldier (631). Even if the men don’t die in battle, they may die from the prevalent dangers of a soldier’s life. These “things” bridge the gap between the physical and mental “things they carried.”

The men wrestle with emotional baggage throughout the story due to their backgrounds, participation in the war, and individual ways of coping with that the situations they encounter. Kiowa carries “his grandmother’s distrust of the white man” because of his upbringing, Jimmy Cross carries “the responsibility for the lives of his men” due to his rank, and the men carry “a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” because they have three powerful standard weapons (626-628). The “unwieghed fear” that the men harbor internally is as heavy, if not heavier than, the physical weight of their packs (627). The emotional damage that the war causes is so strong that they are literally being torn up on the inside and out by the situation.

Lastly, the way the men “carried themselves” bears significance to their ability to endue the war and stay sane. Reputation is what inspires the men to go to war, and it is what keeps them going. It is what “brought them to war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor. Just to avoid the blush of dishonor,” (634). They also must hold “themselves with poise, a kind of dignity” and maintain “the masks of composure” while dealing with “all of the emotional baggage of men who might die,” because their reputation depends on it (633-635). Some accomplish this by demonstrating “a sort of wistful resignation” because “they were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it,” (634). In essence, the men are too scared to be cowards. Unfortunately their desire to maintain a manly reputation leads to “grief. Terror, love, longing—these were tangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight,” (634).

The men have the assurance that “they would never be at a loss for things to carry” (632). They will always have physical and metal loads that weigh more than any man should have to carry. The narrator explains that “It was very sad…The things men carried inside” and the story closes with “carry on” which further exemplifies the multiple levels of meaning of the word carry in the story (636).

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1. Did anyone notice that Jimmy Cross has the same initials as Jesus Christ and that “Cross” is a sign of Jesus Christ? What do you make of this?
2. What is the purpose of the work “hump” in paragraph 5?
3. Why do you guys think that Martha sent Cross the rock with the story about “separate-but-together”
4. Is there any way that there one date meant something significant and that Martha loves Cross too? Why or why not?
5. Does anyone think that Cross’s transformation of mindset at the end was negative?