Women in Wartime Anonymous 11th Grade

Women in WartimeIn his novel, The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien explores the physical, emotional, and mental burdens of war. Set during the Vietnam War, O’Brien guides the reader through the common feelings of guilt, loss, and terror felt by him and his fellow soldiers. Although the novel is mainly centered around male protagonists, women play a smaller but essential role. Throughout the novel, O’Brien incorporates women as a symbol of blind hope for the young soldiers. Guiding the reader through the loss of innocence and loss of love between the soldiers and their lovers back home, he illustrates the power of hope and the travesty of its loss.

Martha, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s love back home, served as a beacon of hope for Cross in times of war desperation, but ultimately his attachment to her proved to be a force of distraction rather than hope. The opening of the novel describes how each character “humps” or carries an aspect of home with them. For Cross, this is a series of photographs and letters from a girl at home, “They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he carried them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack” (1). At first, these letters give Cross something to hold on to -- a bright...