O’Brien implants what each soldier is carrying firmly in the reader’s mind by listing things the soldiers need for necessity (61), superstition (66) and emotional baggage (70). This constant reminder is structured so that the reader can feel the heaviness of each soldier’s load. “Among t

The death of Ted Lavender is revealed as earlier as the second paragraph and is continuous from that point on. Ted Lavender is only important to the story for the mere fact that he was shot due to Lt. Cross fantasizing about Martha, which would not make for an exciting story.

This allows the reader to keep reading to find out what is going to happen to each soldier, who is going to succumb to the pressures of the war and/or their own fears. O’Brien’s use of what the soldiers carry in each section appears to be overkill but at the end of the story it is very much appreciated. So, that the readers can be transformed into the Vietnam War carrying a lot of weight and the heaviest of them all fear.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross has a fascination (or obsession) with Martha and in each paragraph O’Brien reveals more about Martha and Lt. Cross “relationship.” “Lt. Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps” (62). He carried pictures of Martha (63) whom he loved dearly, but he was too preoccupied with her that he was unable to fulfill his duties as a Lieutenant properly. O’Brien gives us this information about Lt. Cross and Martha constantly to understand that some of these soldiers were still young at heart (Lt. Cross was on

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