Emotional Ghostliness

“They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained … in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture (77).” The soldiers in The Things They Carried share the common fear of embarrassment and dishonor. They did not join the army for heroics or to achieve valor but because “men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to … to avoid the blush of dishonor (77).” The men in this story were “tough”; they talked big and made themselves laugh. They kicked the heads of dead men, cut off thumbs, and joked about their fear, taking the meaning and hurt out of death. “They were actors”, masking the truth and burying emotion. “It was not courage, exactly; the object was not valor. Rather, they were too frightened to be cowards (77).” Too afraid to let reality get past their crude jokes and harsh language. Feeling was cowardice, crying was for girls; they were men, meant to go to war and to kill. But in reality, embarrassment was not what they were scared of, the soldiers were scared that if they stopped denying what was going on around them - what has happening to their friends - it would destroy them. The men became emotional ghosts; feeling no pain and living superficially was better than thinking about the destruction and death going on around them.

After Ted Lavender’s death, the soldier Kiowa attempts to talk with another soldier, Norman Bowker, about Lavender’s death, but Bowker just cuts him off and tells him to shut up (45). Bowker doesn’t want to think about their comrade’s death anymore than he has to and in any greater depth than the facts: he got shot, he’s dead, that’s that. Later when Kiowa thinks about Ted Lavender’s death on his own, the strongest emotion he can feel is relief and happiness that he is still alive. Kiowa is ashamed, thinking it is unchristian, that he can’t feel anything more about Lavender’s death than surprise at the quickness of his death, the “Boom-dead”.

On the other hand, Lavender’s death is the last bullet that breaks down Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s tough-guy façade. Guilt and self-recrimination seep through the unfeeling, mental blockade Cross had enforced with the help from his fantasies of Martha. Before Lavender’s death, Cross used his obsession with Martha as an emotional buffer. All his emotions were consumed with the happy memories of Martha, his love for her, their one date, dreams of her falling in love with him, etc. These dreams distracted Cross and repelled reality. Cross did not think about the death around him because he was too busy worrying about the death of Martha’s virginity. Lavender’s death, however, is a reality check for Cross. Although it is not his fault, Cross blames himself and “Martha the buffer” for Lavender’s death; “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead.” Once Cross blamed Martha, he let go of her and his buffer was gone. Cross is left emotionally naked to face the onslaught of emotion caused by Lavender’s death.

The other men are still holding on to their Marthas. Cross, as their leader, is somewhat of an emotional shield for all of them. Since Cross has let his own defense down, he is also essentially no longer a bulwark for the other soldiers. Once Cross lets go of Martha and sees reality clearly again, he is determined to stop dreaming and “comport himself as an officer (99).” None of his soldier’s safety would every be risked again because he couldn’t accept what was really going on. If he was going to start accepting the harsh reality, his men sure as hell would too. He was also going to take away their buffers; the remainder of Lavender’s weed, stop allowing the soldiers to lighten their loads along the trek, insist on clean weapons. Even though his men would see it as punishment, Cross did not do this to reprimand his men but because, those Marthas, those buffers, were distracting his men – as they had distracted him – and making a dangerous situation fatal.

Discussion Questions:

- To what extent do you think other men are holding onto their emotional buffers too?

-What is the significance of the switch in perspectives from Jimmy Cross's to Kiowa's perspective?

-What is O'Brien's purpose in listing both the material and emotional burdens of the soldiers?

- How does Cross see Lavender's death as a second chance at leading his men better? And how will getting rid of Martha help Cross pay more attention to his men?