The book opens with a look into the mind of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, a man deeply in love with a quiet, poetic girl named Martha. A girl who has no love for him. As Jimmy Cross continues to march with his men across Vietnam, he becomes more and more lost in his imaginary world where Martha is his wife. When amidst his daydreaming one of his men, the dope-smoking Ted Lavender is shot and killed, Jimmy Cross takes the blame upon himself. Forever, he carries with him the guilt of a man’s death. Forever he hates Martha for what she has done.

Jimmy Cross’ change in character is just the beginning of The Things They Carried. As the book continues to document what happened to the men O’Brien fought alongside, the reader continues

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