Review: "The Things They Carried"

The theme I plucked out of this story is basically on maturity. Most, if not all, of the soldiers are probably all in their early twenties, which is my age. So even though I am not participating in a literal physical war, I understand, somewhat, what Jimmy was going through. Here, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggles with this guilt of losing Ted Lavender. He blames himself due to his careless while daydreaming about a girl back home, who may or may not love him. Most stories, it seems, that are based on war time experiences, or set during war time, are about how war corrupts. But this story was different. Though the story is not necessarily an uplifting one, the ending of shows a great change in Jimmy's attitude and mind set as a leader. Throughout the story he goes on about a girl back home, whom he loves, but does not, he believes, love him back. This distraction causes him to lose focus on his task as the leader and thus he loses Ted Lavender to a bullet. He blames himself for Ted getting shot. At the end of the story, he burns the letters and photographs he has of the girl back home and decides to crack down as a leader. He tells himself, "no more fantasies" (534). I know, for myself, this is something I have to constantly remind myself of. I'm no longer living in a fantasy world. No more protection from my parents. There is no God. I am only me and what I do is who I am. Being the leader, the man Jimmy is, or forces himself to be, has a direct affect on the soldiers he is leading. Morale and correct action can be, or maybe is, the deciding factor between life or death on war, and also, maybe, in the world we live in, which soldiers may refer to as the fantasy world. Jimmy realizes he cannot dwell on the past. He must live in the present and be prepared for the future. His life and the lives of his soldiers depend on it.

 In the end, Jimmy rejects love. We know "he [is going to] show strength, distancing himself" (355) from his men in order to enable himself to be the leader he needs to be. All the soldiers physically, and mentally, carry much weight, but Jimmy carries letters, which weigh no more than ten ounces. When Jimmy realizes he needs to change, it's because he realizes that he carries all the soldier weights combined. He burns his letters and takes on the weight of his soldiers. He must be tough. He must be strong. He must endure.