Abstract: The story is set in Vietnam. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is there. He loves a girl named Martha that does not love him back. She only has platonic feelings for him. Throughout the story the soldiers are described through the different things they carry. Some carry different equipment for their specific jobs while others carry things out of superstition. Some carried things because of the sentimental value. They all carried emotional hardships and baggage also. They were filled with grief, terror, love, and longing. They did not let their pain show though and kept a mask on. One day they were going through the tunnels and a guy named Lavender got shot and died. One man Kiowa then kept talking about it. Cross blamed himself for it. He thought that it was because of him and his daydreaming that Cross died. He then burned Martha's letters and two photographs. He then vowed to himself that he would not think about Martha again because it was a waste of his time since she didn't even care about him. He would now perform his duties firmly and without negligence. He would make sure that no one else died because of him. He would be the leader that he should and would not let his men behave in ways that could cause their deaths.
Response: I really enjoyed this story. I liked how the author switched between describing what the men were carrying and the storyline. He did not describe people, but you still knew a lot about them from all of the different items that they carried. You learned what they cared about and also what they did. O'Brien often says how much each thing weighed that they carried, but the heaviest thing they carried was not something tangible but rather intangible. By saying the weight of the different items, it make you realize how much the soldiers really did carry around. It kind of burdens you down to realize how much weight they have to physically carry around, and the different emotions and memories that the soldiers had to carry. The war had a big psychological impact on the men. All of the men lived with fear. They feared for their lives. Lavender carried his fear with him because he always carried many different weapons in order if someone came up on him. He dealt with his fear by taking tranquilizers and also smoking dope. It is ironic how he died in the one moment he had no fear. Kiowa also had fear of death. When he saw Lavender die, he was really disturbed. He couldn't stop talking about it. He had to compare Lavender to cement in order to dehumanize him, so it wouldn't disturb him as much to talk about Lavender dying. Cross also fears disappointing his men. He became even more fearful after Lavender died that he would not pay enough attention in the future so more of his men would die. He decided to internalize his fear and not show it. He would put on a front in order to better protect his men. The other men also all live with fear. They are all afraid of dying in battle. They are always on edge scared that an enemy will walk up behind them and kill them. They all felt like cowards because they didn't want to be there and were scared of dying. That is why they killed other people. They wanted to show to their friends and fellow soldiers that they were not afraid of battle and dying. They also were fearful of themselves. They feared that sometime they would decide to try to injure themselves in order for them to be sent home. They were fearful of being seen as a coward that is why they would keep trudging through battle even though it caused them a lot of pain and suffering.
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