Lieutenant Cross' Change of Heart

Tim O'Brien's short story "The Things They Carried" informs us about the items that were carried by the soldiers of the Vietnam War. Not all of the items were physical, some were emotional: "They carried the emotional baggage of men who might die. ... They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret.... They carried their reputations" (74). The emotional "baggage" often helped the soldiers get through each day and take their minds off the circumstances of …

…War with laxity and thinking of Martha. But because of his thoughts of Martha, Ted Lavender was shot and killed. At that moment Jimmy blamed himself for the death of Lavender. Consequently Lieutenant Cross decided to completely change the way he had been acting. No more joking, smoking, dumping equipment, and no more Martha: "First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters. Then he burned the two photographs" (75).