Asha Coutrier

INTL 3111
Professor Arnold
1 December 2016
The Things They Carried
War, in the words of many, never changes. However, those same people must not
have factored into account the constant cycling in of soldiers during a conflict. The
battle and purpose might remain static, but people have different dynamics to them, all
of which can be morphed and molded by trauma, especially war-induced stress. When it
comes to Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried, he
decided to turn the experience of losing one of his subordinates into a reason to become
a better leader of his men, or disciples depending on the angle you take from it. Due to
the reference from Chaucer in the first few lines of the text, it can be proved with
characters from his unfinished novel The Canterbury Tales and textual evidence, that
Lt. Cross was not only the embodiment of two of Chaucers pilgrims, but an overall
archetype for Christ.
Just glancing over the short story, one notices that there is a specific reference to
the month of April, but notably April 16th, when Ted Lavender is shot coming back from
relieving himself. For history aficionados, they would cite this of importance due to it
being the day before the Tet Offensive; however, April 16th is also the day children expect
to find eggs left in odd places by a rabbit who enjoys haphazardly scattering candy. So
not only did he lose one of his squad members, but Lavenders death could also be
counted as the trigger that led to his psychological resurrection as the new determined
Jimmy Cross. His goal now of not to be loved but to lead was a task undertaken by
Jesus that led to his martyrdom (OBrien). While focused on Jesus, the number 17 was
repeated about three times on one page and then never said again. Seventeen was the
exact number of years Jesus took before beginning his ministry, and while Lt. Cross did
not take nearly as long, it could also be interpreted as the number of months that it took
for something to activate the unconscious need to protect his flock and lead them to
safety or, at least, the illusion of safety (OBrien).
Within The Canterbury Tales, both The Knight and The Parson were known for
their overall purity and proclivity to wish well for others. However, unlike the Parson,
The Knight was battle-hardened, for lack of a better term, and had a great deal of
foresight when it came to which ever actions he was about to take. The Parson, however,
was more of a pacifist who was known for adhering strictly to his words and acting the
way he wished others to do. The fact that Jimmy Cross was not just Jimmy Cross, but
First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross showcases the fact that he has been in Vietnam for quite
some time because he had to progress through the ranks for his position (OBrien). Even

when Lt. Cross and the other men would settle down for the day, it was specifically
stated that he sat watching the night, which would be his attempt to prevent any
unnecessary loss of life (OBrien). While there is no way to permanently disassociate
from the battle surrounding them, Lt. Cross, unlike Kiowa, sat steeped in the midst of
the realization that the next day was really not ever guaranteed to them and there was
no time for even the slightest hint of lackadaisicalness because not paying attention
could get you killed coming back from the bathroom.
Another characteristic of The Parson, besides his humble nature, was the fact that
he lived in relative poverty. While Jimmy Cross did not have any sort of monetary
poverty, it seemed as if he only carried the essentials and the pictures of Martha. While
others carried drugs, foot powder, and bug spray, he stripped himself down to just
pictures, which everyone carried. Akin to The Parson, both men did not bother with a
great deal of miscellaneous physical items. To them, what mattered most was their
ideologies and the mission ahead. For The Parson, it was the pilgrimage to Canterbury
to pay homage to the martyr Saint Thomas Becket, but for Jimmy, it was lead his men to
their eventual exit from Vietnam. While he was a tad obsessive over Martha, with his
want to sleep inside her lungs and breath her blood, the underlying goal was
always to take care if his men, which became his primary focus at the end of the story
(OBrien).
First Lieutenant Cross exhibited a rather minimal amount of self-care, other than
his daydreams back to Martha, which was odd. He dreamt not of home, but of a girl who
did not seem to emit the same affection. Martha seemed to be the last connection back
to where ever he had once comfortably laid his head. He shed those ties, in order to,
evolve into a better leadership figure for his men, even if that meant no longer indulging
in the occasional superficial thought. Just like Jesus, The Parson, and the Knight, there
was no other purpose for him besides to protect and lead. While that came as a
detriment to these men because they ignored their own impulses and needs, it made
them not only significant but extremely influential to those surrounded by them;
whether it be on a battlefield or behind a pulpit.