Things They Carried

As the main character of the story it is often reviewed how his daydreaming or fantasizing about Martha placed himself and his men endanger. Cross was unable to conduct himself as a leader because his thoughts clouded his mind and judgments. When his troops began to get killed the Cross blamed himself. He carried that burden in his mind as well. He was unable to break away from the emotional power that Martha had over him from a distance. He wanted so much to be truly loved and thought of by her. He carried his things for him and his troop's survival and the things he need as a leader. He also carried portraits and gifts from Martha. He mainly carried the love and obsession for Martha. Towards the middle of the story, he began carrying the burden of losing his troops due to lack of leadership. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was constantly tormented in his duties. The story mainly focuses on his conflicting emotions and the things he carried.

Minor characters were portrayed with small visuals of their insights. It was viewed how they responded to someone's death or how they responded to comments made by others. They all looked up to Lt Cross as their leader, completely unaware of the emotional detachment he felt for his duties. Cross wanted to be in the arms of Martha. The other characters packed their necessities to survive and they too carried things of comfort but Lt Cross personal comfort was conflicting with his duties. The minor characters seemed to have been more in tuned with their surroundings. They knew the time difference of knowing when and when not to enjoy their personal comfort, be it physical or in their mind escaping to a different place to ease their thoughts.