The Things They Carried: Emotions Are Not A Sign Of Weakness

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Regardless of whatever the situation may be if a man's will power is strong enough he will definitely prevail. "I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail... the poet's voice need not merely be the record of the man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.” William Faulkner’s speech in 1950 talks about the importance of emotions that man carries all throughout the difficult predicaments in life, all in which they surpass one after another, and Faulkner’s speech also talks about how a poet’s duty is to record all of the memorable moments of the life of man that are sometimes incomprehendable. Writing down all of man’s emotions they will forever be in existence therefore, encouraging future generations to follow their hearts, and never forgetting the generations before them.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the platoon leader in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ infatuation is with a young woman that he met during his school days were still in session, Martha. Cross absolutely loves Martha although he knows that she does not feel the same way about him. Regardless, Cross keeps letters and pictures of her to comfort himself when he needs it. Instead of looking out for his men, Cross was day dreaming about Martha, meanwhile, Ted Lavender is shot, instantly killing him. Although, Cross feels lugubrious he continues to move forward with his life, living not just for himself, but for Ted Lavender too. Cross takes the initiative to burn all of the photographs and letters of Martha, to prevent a similar situation from occurring. “On the morning after Ted lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross... burned Martha’s letters. Then he burned the two photographs.”(23) Li...

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...at them. Many of the characters in the book did not have a fortunate fate, but those that did survive, such as O’Brien can write down the memorable moments that each individual has, and by doing so, they will never be suppress. At the end of the book O’Brien talks about his first childhood love, Linda. Linda was bound to die because of a tumor growing on her head. At the time O’Brien did not comprehend what it meant to die. He was merely a child that did not know the cruel facts about the world. Although, O’Brien did figure out that by keeping the memory of the beloved one they will forever be alive. O’Brien claims for the people that are no longer living to be forever lasting with merely the memory of them. By conveying these people’s feelings they are never forgotten, never unexciting, and for always, as long as the story is alive, so are the people’s emotions.

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