Symbolism in The Things They Carried

In the short story “The Things They Carried,” Lieutenant Cross uses his fascination and lust towards Martha as a way to distance himself from the events of the war by symbolically portraying Martha as an image of what life was like before the war, in order to help him cope with his hardships faced in Vietnam. Lieutenant Cross places significant importance on the fact that he believes Martha to be a virgin. When the narrator says, “... then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder if Martha was a virgin” (O’Brien 1), we are led to believe that Martha’s virginity is part of Cross’ obsession. The significant of Martha’s virginity to Lieutenant Cross is that virginity is associated with purity, innocence, and way of life which had been prematurely taken from him. Martha’s letters are also symbolic of peace time because they contained poetry and no reference to the war. The simplicity of her correspondence, and the lack of realism, allowed Cross’s fantasies to grow as he needed them, to cope with war. Finally, the gift of the pebble which Cross idolized, represents frivolous sentiment from Martha which held Cross to the past. The pebble represents an intimate connection for Lieutenant Cross. When the narrator says, “On the march, through the hot days of early April, he carried the pebble in his mouth, turning it with his tongue, tasting sea salt and moisture” (O’Brien 8), his intimate actions towards the pebble shows that he uses this connection with Martha to nullify the pains of war. A talisman of luck such as the pebble, brings the reader back to their childhood and serves as a reminder of the belief of youth which has been lost upon Cross. In whole, Martha did not represent any part of the cruel realities of war which Cross faced everyday. She was a symbol of everything Cross had lost; innocence, peace of mind, and youth. However, when Lieutenant Cross burns Martha’s letters, he is punishing himself for Lavender’s death, because the distractions caused by thoughts of Martha prevented Cross from carrying out his duty to protect his men, and as a result Lavender dies.