The Things They Carried and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Literary Analysis
Joseph Wolf
Dr. Lasco
December 8, 2016
English 1302
The Things They Carried and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Literary Analysis
One thing universally recognized by the world’s military men and women is that one’s life is never the same following the first shot being fired. A soldier entering war has many niches in the battle; survival is the one instinct that takes over after the first volley of shots take place. Thoughts of love and peace are quickly replaced by the violence and hate that war bring. Using a psychoanalytic criticism, the rigorous change in Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ mindset in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” can easily be seen.
“The Things They Carried” follows a young man named Jimmy Cross as he embarks on a tour of duty in the Vietnam War. At the start of the story, Cross is seen as young, innocent, and loving man that is reminiscent of his peaceful home life back in the United States. The Lieutenant is seen as loving as he holds onto the letters of Martha, his high school sweetheart, as he thinks about tying her to the bed and touching her leg. While remembering his home life with Martha, Jimmy is quickly brought back to the harsh realities of war. Following the death of Ted Lavender, a man in his company, Cross is seen burning the love letters from Martha. Cross burns the letters as a way to try and blame himself for Lavender’s death. He uses the letters as a scapegoat for the harsh reality of war. Instead of admitting that the war is a violent, unjust line of events, the young lieutenant chooses to use the letters as a way of blaming himself for the death of Ted. Cross feels guilty for the death of Lavender because he loves his high school sweetheart more than the men he is in charge of protecting and bringing home to their respected loved ones (Jarraway). This simple act of torching the letters is a defining moment in the short story as it signals the change in Cross’ mind. The Lieutenant is not only shedding the letters of his past loving and innocent self but is also growing into the hardened man his company needs to follow in the war (Little). The now hardened Cross must lead his group of men, who are presumed to be around the same age he is, through a war on foreign soil. A war that will lead to an unseen mental battle a myriad of the young soldiers will face for the rest of their foreseen lives.
While not being named an official diagnosis until 1980, post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, has been known since the first world war. Originally known as “shell shock”, it is defined as a disorder experienced following a traumatic event. Mainly occurring within months after the event has taken place, PTSD can have quite devastating effects on a person’s mindset. The victim can go from a loving, innocent, and caring individual to one that is emotionless and hardened. War is known to be a major contributor to the PTSD community. Jimmy Cross is slowly taking on the effects of PTSD while fighting in Vietnam. Cross’ burning of the letters signals the start of the change due to the symbols used to describe the event. Fire is seen as a symbol of destruction and cleansing. The burning of the letters is a symbol of the home life, Cross enjoyed before coming to Vietnam. While the ashes left behind by the letters, are the new current state Cross must live in. Cross knows he can no longer be the young innocent boy he once was; he must now become a hardened grown man in order to lead the rest of his company to a safe journey home.
During the Vietnam War an estimated two million Americans entered the war zone, fifty-eight thousand never returned. While the readers are unaware of the total number of soldiers in Lieutenant Cross’ company, it can be inferred that the majority of the men returned home. Sadly, the average age of the soldier who did not return home was only twenty-two years old. Once again, readers are not aware of the exact age of Cross however, it is understood that he is in that same age range. The ones who did return home to their loved ones faced the trouble of dealing with the images they saw while in the war. The estimated number of Vietnam veterans who had symptoms associated with PTSD is approximately 830,000, which equates to about forty-one percent of the total number of serving veterans (Weiss). These numbers show the likelihood of a person like Jimmy developing the disorder, especially after witnessing first-hand the effects of war.