Name of text
2.1 ESSAY TOPIC 1
Author
Analyse how a main character OR individual matures and takes action in a text (or
texts) you have studied.
Character
 Characteristics at start
 Event and action
“The Things They Carried” – the character is First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross
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Preoccupied with Martha, the girl back in America who writes him letters
He carries the letters (physical weight) and he carries the thoughts he has of
her and the love he hopes she has for him (psychological weight)
1. O’Brien begins the short story with “First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried
letters from a girl named Martha”. The first verb is “carried” to reinforce
the character’s main action. The first object is “letters” to emphasise the
heaviest weight.
2. O’Brien crafts the start of the story to show what was initially most
important to Cross. He begins the third section of the short story to
convey this too: “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up
the hills and through the swamps.” O’Brien wrote that the verb hump
“implied burdens far beyond the intransitive”. By writing a definition of
the word, O’Brien expands the meaning of the objects which are carried
to include the psychological weight of thoughts, hopes and things
imagined.
3. O’Brien also uses a list of actions to depict the nightly ritual Cross had of
reading the letters. The actions show how precious the letters were to
Cross: “In the late afternoon after a day’s march he would dig his
foxhole, wash his hands under the canteen, unwrap the letters, hold
them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light
pretending.” Cross made sure both he and the letters were safe before
ritualistically cleaning his hands with the best water he had available to
him (also a weight he carried) and then carefully holding the letters. The
use of the list reinforces how precious the letters were because he only
looks at them after he has completed every one of his preparation tasks.
4. Using the water for this purpose shows the importance of the letters too.
He should have kept this water for drinking instead of washing his hands
with it.
5. The reality of the situation was that he was at war, and there were
enemy soldiers nearby. O’Brien emphasises that Cross was not taking
his responsibilities seriously because he would spend an important hour,
“the last hour of light”, imagining that Martha was in love with him. The
use of the present participle “pretending” indicates that this
preoccupation was on-going.
He is so preoccupied with his thoughts of Martha that he does not protect one
of the soldiers in his troop and consequently Ted Lavender is shot and killed
This compels Cross to analyse his role as a lieutenant in the war
1. Metacognition – he thought about his thinking, the time he spent on it
and the subject that weighed on his mind. The use of the participle in the
phrase “he could not stop thinking about her” highlights how relentlessly
he focused on her and therefore how little attention he paid to his
responsibilities
He burns the letters and takes charge of the troops
1. O’Brien begins the last section of this short story with “On the morning
after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the
bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters.” The first verb
“crouched” highlights his humility; he has been brought low by the
realisation of his role in Ted Lavender’s death and feels the
consequential guilt and shame. This shows that he is taking
responsibility, which is a sign of maturity.
2. O’Brien repeats the phrase “he burned” (firstly the letters, then the
photographs of Martha) to reinforce the maturing of Cross. This is an
irreversible action, which signifies that Cross is completely putting aside
his immaturity.
 Characteristics at end
 Evidence of these
 What author does to
show this
 Preoccupied with Martha
 Carries letters and hopes
of her love
1. First verb in first
sentence = carried (most
important action)
2. First object in first
sentence = letters (most
important or heaviest
weight)
3. Definition of verb
“hump”  psychological
weight as well as physical
4. List of actions depicts
nightly ritual, most
important act is last
5. Verb “pretending” is
present participle,
implies on-going
preoccupation
 So preoccupied he does
not protect troops 
significant event: death
of Ted Lavender
 Compels Cross to think
about thinking,
metacognition
1.
Use of participle in
“could not stop
thinking about her” 
relentless focus of his
attention
 Burns the letters and
takes charge of troops 
decisive and final action
shows taking
responsibility and
maturing
1. First verb crouched 
his humility
2. Repetition of phrase
“he burned” 
irreversible action,
abandoning immaturity