... Lavender is killed, and this greatly affects Cross. Because Cross is the Alpha man, he felt as if it was his fault for Lavenders death. "He pictured Martha's smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could ... not stop thinking about her (O'Brien 644)." All Cross could think of is Martha and how much he loved her, he used her as something to look forward to and as a distraction from anything around him. Often times, when he was ... scared to do something, he would begin to think about Ma...

• Word Count: 1337
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of them useless, depending on their nature just to cope with the stress of the war. Jim Cross, the platoon leader carried photos and letters from a girl back in America, Martha. Dave Jensen carried a toothbrush and Rat Kiley carried comic books. All of these loads were reminders of the homeland and in a way they were the objects weakening them even though ... , he never talks about what the objects weighed mentally, especially those objects, which are useless in the fighting. We know that "the letters from Martha, Jimmy Cross's love, weighed 10 ounces- (2), but we don't know how much Mar...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... is that of the importance of certain objects or feelings used by the soldiers of Alpha Company to survive the war. Jimmy Cross, the leader the group, carries a picture of a Martha, a girl who writes him from the states. Jimmy knows that there is no real relationship between the two, but he uses the picture the help keep him connected to the ... the soldiers in each other with their lives created the friendship and bond that helped them survive each day in Vietnam. Jimmy Cross burned his treasured photos and letters from Martha because he feared that he was letting down the men. When Ted...

• Word Count: 1676
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School