English Notes
January 7, 2015
Questions/Answers The Things They Carried Chapter 1
Homework: Read “Spin”
1. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries letters from Martha in his rucksack (not love letters)
2. Martha—Jimmy’s love interest
Martha—grey eyes (grey is neutral—like her stance towards Jimmy Cross), plays volleyball, sent
Jimmy a pebble from the Jersey shore since it reminded her of the shore line being “separate
but together,” she sends him letters, she dances alone, she isn’t flirtatious/affectionate when
Jimmy puts his hand on her knee, she doesn’t openly express her emotions, she writes poetry
3. Jimmy Cross—lieutenant, protagonist (main character), feels it is his job to protect the soldiers
and feels responsible/guilty when Ted Lavender is killed.
Jimmy Cross—Cross to carry/bear, Jesus on the cross died for other’s sins, represents
sacrifice and suffering
4. What does Martha think of Jimmy?—platonic relationship, respect, not romance
5. Jimmy is in love with Martha, concerned about her virginity (innocence, purity), wants Martha
to possess innocence since he lost his innocence in the war
Ted Lavender’s death has the most significant impact on Cross. He regrets being distracted. He
burns Martha’s picture.
6. Kiowa keeps talking about the death of Lavender—he keeps seeing it happen (Ted falling down
dead immediately). Kiowa is glad he didn’t die. (See pages 16-17)
7. Jimmy Cross burns his letters and pictures in order to “shut down the daydreams” (23). He
“couldn’t burn the blame” of losing Lavender (22)
8. Cataloging—helps to characterize each soldier, weights of items the soldiers carry (ammunition,
etc.) and emotional weight of the burden they carry.
9. The death of Ted Lavender repeats throughout the chapter. Some soldiers feel survivor’s guilt
when someone they care about dies and they are still alive, however Lavender’s death allows
Kiowa to appreciate life.
10. Narrative structure—not chronological, moves from past to present.
“Love”
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Takes place in the future when the narrator and Jimmy Cross meet. They drink coffee, smoke,
and then switch to drinking gin.
“…[we] talked about everything we had seen and done so long ago, all the things we still
carried through our lives” (26).
They reminisce about the things the soldiers carried (Dobbins with the pantyhose, Kiowa’s
moccasins and hatchet, Kiely’s comic books.)
Narrator asks Cross about Martha—Cross accuses the narrator, a writer, about having a long
memory. Cross retrieves a picture of Martha in her volleyball uniform.
Cross met up with Martha at a college reunion in 1979. They discussed their lives. Martha was
a Lutheran missionary. She never married. Cross tried to hold her hand but she didn’t squeeze
back –her eyes were still grey (neutral).
Cross reminisces about the time he wanted to take Martha back to the dormitory room. Martha
can’t understand why men do the things they do. She could be referring to sexual aggression
and war (disrespecting life and taking things by force).
Cross remains in love with Martha. He carries the only picture of her that he didn’t burn.
Cross asks the writer/narrator to make him out to be a “good guy” and asks him not to mention
something (probably the death of Ted Lavender—the writer doesn’t keep that promise.)
“Love” Discussion Questions
1. Jimmy couldn’t go on thinking about Martha since he associates her with Ted’s death.
2. What are the things Jimmy Cross will never know that may help clarify for us Martha’s life
situation? Perhaps Martha was a product of sexual aggression?
3. Martha can’t understand the things men do (sexually, war, aggression).
4. Cross asks the writer/narrator to make him out to be a “good guy” and asks him not to mention
something (probably the death of Ted Lavender—the writer doesn’t keep that promise.)