The Things They Carried

How does the word “love” have significance in the story “The Things They Carried”? And how does it affect Jimmy Cross to learn a lesson about war?

            In “The Thing They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien, the author focuses on Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ love for Martha while he was in the war. Romance seemed to take an important role in the story because his love for Martha was continuously mentioned throughout the story. He was obsessed with her and she became a distraction for him. While he was in duty, he would “wonder if Martha was a virgin” (367).  He carried two photographs of Martha and at night, he wondered who had taken the picture, if she had other boyfriends, and examined the picture more closely. Jimmy Cross seemed like a stalker in the story and he wanted to know more about her. He always thought about her and “he had difficulty keeping his attention on the war” (371). When he gave his men duties, he would be a hypocrite and tell them to keep their eyes open. However, “he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore, with Martha, carrying nothing” (372). When the other men were working hard, he would be thinking about his love for Martha. During hard times, he also thought about her and without knowing, he would be thinking about her constantly. Jimmy Cross was the leader and he would have to take responsibility for the lives of his men. He began to realize that he should pay attention to the war when Ted Lavender died. Jimmy Cross had not really loved Martha and love was not important to him anymore. His love for Martha helped him to realize and straighten up. He felt guilty and shameful for loving Martha more than his men. Lavender’s death “was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (377). He thoughts had led him astray and “he realized she did not leave him and never would” (378). Jimmy Cross learned to suck it up and face the horrors of death. He was “now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence” (384). His love for Martha had faded completely and he learned that “his obligation was not to be loved but to lead” (384). 

Gryphon

       Charles Baxter uses the conventional and unconventional ideas in Gryphon to show the difference of the personalities of the children and Miss Ferenczi, the class substitute. In the story, Miss Ferenczi acted very unconventional and seemed to have a unique characteristic. For example, one student accidently said that six time eleven is sixty-eight, but Miss Ferenczi said it was correct sometimes. In the real world, that would equal sixty-six, but she acted like it was completely normal and didn’t seem to care whether it was right or wrong (42). She had different perspective and thought of many creative ideas. In addition, instead of sitting with the teachers during lunch, she sat with the children. She ate strange foods like raw spinach and stuffed fig (44). Miss Ferenczi also said, “you have to shuffle the pack. Mix it up” (44). That quote shows her wanting and enjoying being different. Furthermore, she teaches the children about imaginary creatures and says that she saw them. For instance, she wrote the word “gryphon” (47) on the board and said she saw one. However, many of the students did not believe that there was a half bird and half lion. She seemed to be strange to the students and had a very wide imagination. On the contrary, the children of Mr. Hibler’s class were very conventional and followed a schedule. They always said the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning and went through the day by having reading and then arithmetic. The students complained if the schedule wasn’t followed and expected everything to be in order. Moreover, one of the students corrected Miss Ferenczi and said that six time eleven was actually sixty-eight. They followed the rules and did not bend them. On the other hand, Miss Ferenczi was able to bend the rule and showed her thoughts. Charles Baxter utilized the conventional and unconventional ideas throughout the story to give the readers two different perspectives on the story.