Tangible Items
Lieutenant Cross's guilt over Ted Lavender's death was partly due to his obsession with these.
What are Martha's letters?
This event occurred just after Lee Strunk emerged from a tunnel, demonstrating the fragile nature of survival in the war.
What is Ted Lavender's death?
comforting food, often packaged in C-rations, could be found in soldiers' backpacks, sometimes with a peanut butter flavor.
What are M&M’s?
This term refers to the act of walking or marching with heavy gear, often used in reference to the emotional weight soldiers carry.
What is a "humping"?
This soldier carries a New Testament, seeking comfort
Who is Kiowa, the Native American soldier?
This item, carried by Henry Dobbins, was a comfort and weighed a total of 23 pounds when fully loaded.
What is the M-60 machine gun?
This word was used to describe the sudden, heavy nature of Ted Lavender's death, emphasizing how quickly the soldiers fell.
What is "boom, down"?
This item, often included in soldiers' packs, helped provide hydration in the field.
What is a canteen?
This term refers to the standard military food soldiers carried during the war, often in cans or packets
What are C-rations?
This soldier carried a diary and often reflected on his feelings after the war.
Who is Norman Bowker?
Ted Lavender carried these tranquilizers to calm his nerves until he was shot in mid-April.
What are tranquilizers?
Lieutenant Cross blamed himself for Ted Lavender's death, feeling that his distraction by this person led to the fatal lapse in attention.
Who is Martha?
Often seen as a good luck charm, soldiers sometimes carried this small object for comfort.
What is a rabbit’s foot?
A soldier would dig a hole deep enough for protection and shooting, with the upper chest exposed above the rim when standing.
A field hole dug by a soldier.
What is a foxhole?
This soldier carries a rabbit’s foot
Who is Dave Jensen?
Most of the men carried these items, which weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, and included essentials like can openers, dog tags, and packets of Kool-Aid
What are the essential items or personal equipment?
Despite carrying physical items like weapons and rations, the soldiers in the Vietnam War carry this intangible weight, which, according to the passage, cannot be "put down" and causes emotional anguish
What are memories and guilt?
This substance was sometimes used by soldiers to cope with the stresses and trauma of war.
What is dope?
This term refers to the soldiers' nickname for themselves
What are grunts or legs
This soldier, who carries a photo of Martha, is deeply conflicted about his role in the war, torn between his duty and his romantic fantasies.
Who is Lieutenant Jimmy Cross?
his unusual weapon, carried by Lee Strunk as a "last resort," was seen as a joke by the other soldiers
What is a slingshot?
The soldiers dream about going home, but this just shows how trapped they are in the war
(Why is it sad that the soldiers dream about going home, but can’t really get away from the war?)
What is tragic irony?
(It's ironic because they want to leave, but they can't.)
These items, both tangible and intangible, represent the physical and emotional weight the soldiers carry throughout the war, from weapons to memories of home.
What are the things they carried?
This slang term refers to a soldier’s protective vest, worn to guard against shrapnel and bullets
What is a flak jacket?
This character acts as the narrator in The Things They Carried
Who is Tim O'Brien?