The Things They Carried is a story about an American soldier, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, fighting in the Vietnam War who is fixated on making a woman back home fall in love with him. While he is trying to do this, Cross is also trying to deal with the events of the Vietnam War, and slowly begins showing signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As the effects of PTSD slowly take over, he begins distancing himself from the woman back home, Martha, and eventually cuts off communication from her. While soldiers today also suffer from PTSD, and have loved ones back home, Cross’s story differs from the modern day soldier. The events of The Things They Carried are impacted by the historical events surrounding it.

The fact that Cross is having trouble communicating with Martha, may be part of his struggle with PTSD. As well as depression, anger, anxiety, and many other symptoms, one of the main symptoms of PTSD is relationship issues (Brooks). After awhile of exchanging letters with this woman, Cross seems to be forming a genuine connection with Martha. However, later in the story, one of Cross’s friends, Ted Lavender, is killed in combat while Cross is reading one of Martha’s letters. Cross begins to feel personally responsible for Lavender’s death, even though there was nothing he could really do about it. Cross feels that his relationship with Martha is too much of a distraction, so he takes his most recent letters from her, and burns them all. During the time of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, which is from the sixties and seventies, mental health was not a serious concern, and was even seen as taboo to talk about even in the medical field. The effects of post war trauma were not as well known as they are today, so Cross could not have received proper treatment during the events of the story. If he could have gotten the proper treatment, the events following Lavender’s death could have been different, and there is a possibility that Cross would not have felt as personably responsible. 

The Things They Carried has a deep connection to the historical events surrounding the story. The story of Jimmy Cross is a tragic one, and sadly does not have a happy ending. By the end, he begins to feel hatred towards a woman who he once loved, because of events that were out of his control. 
