In The Things They Carried O’Brien writes about the burdens soldiers face while at war, specifically the Vietnam War.  The soldiers of this war were not as appreciated as soldiers have been throughout America’s history.  These soldiers were drafted into such a horrible, gruesome war and were never fully thanked or given the tools to cope with the mental hardships that are associated with returning home from combat.  The Vietnam soldiers struggled deeply with their mental health during and after the war, but it was difficult for them to get the help they needed.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects soldiers not only when they return home but while they are at war as well.  War pushes the body to its physical brink, but it is the soldier’s mental state that determines whether or not they can survive.  

The illusion of hope that Tim O’Brien creates in his novel The Things They Carried distracts Jimmy Cross from performing his duties and protecting his men.  Lieutenant Cross is infatuated with a young girl named Martha.  She sends him letters that Cross believes are love letters because he is blind to the fact that their relationship is platonic.  The letters weighed a mere 10 ounces which is a tiny fraction of weight compared to all of the other gear he had on his back the thought of the letters weighs him down.  Cross is not just bogged down with physical baggage, but mental and emotional baggage. Lieutenant Cross is so enthralled in his love for Marth that he “humped his love for [her] up the hills and through the swamps” (O’Brien 329).  Cross’s fascination goes beyond the point of a mental getaway, but physically he carries it with him every day, it determines how he does his work.  At first, the he uses the letters and a pebble Martha sent him as a distraction from the war.  However, his distractions do not allow him to think with a clear head like a soldier should be thinking and it costs him one of his men.  He blames himself completely for the death of Ted Lavender because “he had loved Martha more than his men, and consequently Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (336).  Cross carries more than just the gear on his back, he also bares the weight of his men’s lives on his back.  The Lieutenant’s hopeless love for Martha has mislead him to the point where he lost a fellow soldier.  He was caught up in his daydreaming about Martha instead of watching out for each of his men.  By having the burden of love on his mind, it caused Cross to lose a man and now bear the guilt along with him as well.  His emotional distractions cause him physical distress in the end.  Cross’s ranking forces him to endure not only his love for Martha but also the weight of his men’s lives.  

Unlike Cross romantic distractions, it is not always distractions that alter a soldier’s mental state, rather it is mental illness that overtakes them.  For example, Ted Lavender’s anxiety overtakes every aspect of his war life.  Fear is expected for soldiers, but it is how they cope with fear that determines their mental stability.  Because Lavender is horrified he “carried 6 or 7 ounces of premium dope, which for him was a necessity” as well as other tranquilizers to calm him down (329).  The fact that Lavender needs to resort to drugs to deal with his mental pain proves that he is more concerned with keeping himself sane than dwelling on the physical hardships of war.  He is trying to keep himself numb by smoking dope and taking tranquilizers and staying under the radar.  Also, his mental instabilities have an effect on the physical weight he carries, as O’Brien says, “The typical load was 25 rounds.  But Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried 34 rounds when he was shot and killed” (330).  It could have been that the extra weight slowed him down and ended in him not being able to escape his fate fast enough.  Or perhaps that death was he wanted all along, especially towards the end.  His fear consumed him and it is possible that he used the weight as a scapegoat for wanting to get out of the warzone and never return even if it meant ending his life.  He did not have to die a coward because his weight was what slowed him down.  Ultimately it was his fear that killed him, even if it did put him out of his misery.  Lavender was not meant for war.  He was drafted just like everyone else in the Vietnam War.  Most other soldiers were able to accept that this was their duty, but not Ted Lavender.  He carried extra weight mentally and physically that lead to his downfall.

In contrast, Kiowa took his families values to war both in his mind and in his family’s belongings.  The first mention of Kiowa states that he is a devout Baptist and brought with him the New Testament given to him by his father.  Having religion while going to war can give a soldier something to have faith and hope in when it is nearly impossible to find.  Although Kiowa comes from a faith based background he also, “carried his grandmother’s distrust of the white man [and] his grandfather’s old hunting hatchet” (329).  It is almost certain that Kiowa was one of the only men of color in his platoon because.  That said, not trusting white men is a heavy burden to bare.  In war soldiers are supposed to trust their fellow men with their lives and have each other’s backs no matter what.  In Kiowa’s case he cannot trust the other men in his platoon, so he has to watch out for himself even more-so than the other men.  This also means that if he does not trust the white men, he most likely will not be willing to give his life for them if necessary, or even look out for them.  Kiowa carries his grandfather’s feather hatchet, a connection to his home and Native American heritage.  Kiowa does not trust white men because throughout history they have taken from Native Americans unjustly.    The hatchet keeps him even more attached to his family and therefore the distrust for white men.  It is likely that Kiowa did not agree with the Vietnam War at all because he could sympathize with being persecuted like many innocent Vietnamese civilians were.  America during the time of the Vietnam war was going through the Civil Rights Movement, so racial tensions at home and at war were high.  Kiowa has a deeper connection to his family and his background that the rest of the men.

O’Brien tries to demonstrate to readers of “The Things They Carried” that Vietnam soldiers suffered burdens, some more than others, but they all suffered.  Depending on the soldier their mental state can affect how they do their job.  It can determine how they view their fellow soldiers and themselves.  The fact that the story takes place in the Vietnam War also shapes the readers view on the soldiers because it was seen as a highly controversial war, and still is today.  