The Things They Carried

Characaters

The Things They Carried

Introduces the soldiers of Alpha Company in Vietnam and details what they carry, literally and emotionally. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross obsesses over Martha, a girl back home.

Jimmy Cross

Letters and a pebble from Martha, responsibility for his men.

Ted Lavender

Tranquilizers, premium dope, fear.

Henry Dobbins

Extra rations, girlfriend’s pantyhose.

Dave Jensen

Toothbrush, floss, soap, fear of germs

Mitchell Sanders

Condoms, brass knuckles, moral sense

Norman Bowker

A diary, guilt.

Rat Kiley

Comic books, morphine, M&M’s, medical supplies

Kiowa

A Bible, hatchet, guilt and faith

Lee Strunk

Slingshot, tanning lotion.

Love

Years later, Jimmy Cross visits O'Brien. They talk about Martha. Cross still carries guilt over Lavender’s death.

Jimmy Cross

Still carries the emotional burden of Lavender’s death and unrequited love for Martha.

Tim O’Brien

Acts as a bridge between past and present

Spin

Fragments of memories and odd moments from the war, showing how soldiers coped with trauma

Azar

Gave a boy with a blown-off leg a chocolate bar.

Ted Lavender, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, Henry Dobbins

 Mentioned in short scenes, each reflecting the weirdness and absurdity of war.

Tim O’Brien

Reflects on writing and memory

On the Rainy River

Tim gets drafted and nearly flees to Canada. At a fishing lodge near the border, he decides to go to war out of shame.

Tim O’Brien

Carries fear and shame; battles a moral crisis

Elroy Berdahl

Silent lodge owner who helps Tim confront his conscience.

Enemies

Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk fight over a missing knife. Later, Jensen breaks his own nose out of guilt.

Dave Jensen

Carries guilt and paranoia.

Lee Strunk

Carries physical pain and later reconciles with Jensen

Friends

Strunk and Jensen become friends and make a pact—if one gets seriously hurt, the other will kill him. Strunk loses a leg and begs Jensen not to kill him. Jensen is relieved when Strunk dies.

Dave Jensen & Lee Strunk

Carry the moral weight of their pact

How to Tell a True War Story

O’Brien explores what makes a war story true—emotions, not facts. Rat Kiley tells a story about his friend Curt Lemon’s death.

Rat Kiley

Writes a letter to Lemon’s sister, tells emotional war stories

Curt Lemon

Killed by a rigged mortar round; carried machismo.

Mitchell Sanders

 Shares another strange war story

Tim O’Brien

Reflects on storytelling and memory

The Dentist

Curt Lemon, embarrassed by his fear of a dentist, demands a tooth extraction to prove his bravery.

Curt Lemon

Carries insecurity masked as bravado.

Army Dentist

A minor but symbolic figure of fear.

Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong

Rat Kiley tells a surreal story of Mary Anne Bell, a girlfriend who visits Vietnam and becomes wild, eventually vanishing into the jungle.

Mary Anne Bell

Transforms from sweet girl to a symbol of war’s corruptive power

Mark Fossie

Brings Mary Anne to Vietnam.

Rat Kiley

 Narrator, fascinated by the story

Stockings

 Henry Dobbins wears his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck for luck—even after she dumps him.

Henry Dobbins

Carries hope and superstition

Church

The platoon stays at a pagoda. Kiowa respects the church; Dobbins considers being a preacher

Henry Dobbins & Kiowa

Reflect on spirituality and meaning

The Man I Killed

O’Brien fixates on a Vietnamese man he killed, imagining his life.

Tim O’Brien:

Carries deep guilt

Dead Vietnamese man

Never named but richly imagined.

Kiowa

Tries to comfort O’Brien

Ambush

O'Brien recounts the killing again, this time as a direct confession to his daughter.

Tim O’Brien

Struggles with guilt and storytelling

Kathleen (his daughter):

Asks if he’s ever killed anyone.

Style

A girl dances through the rubble of her burned village. The soldiers can’t understand her behavior.

Young Vietnamese girl

Represents the war's chaos

Azar

Mocks the girl, then feels shame.

Henry Dobbins:

 Defends the girl’s dignity.

Speaking of Courage

After the war, Norman Bowker drives in circles, haunted by Kiowa’s death and his inability to save him.

Norman Bowker

Carries shame and isolation.

Notes

O’Brien shares that Bowker sent him a letter about the war. Bowker later commits suicide.

Norman Bowker & Tim O’Brien

Share burdens through writing

In the Field

Recounts Kiowa’s death during a mission in a field of sewage. Cross blames himself. A young soldier feels intense guilt.

Jimmy Cross

Revisits his leadership failures.

Kiowa

Dies in the muck.

Young unnamed soldier

Possibly the one who turned on a flashlight, leading to the ambush.

The Ghost Soldiers

O’Brien recalls being wounded and how he was mistreated by a new medic, Bobby Jorgenson. He plots revenge but later forgives him.

Tim O’Brien

 Grapples with vengeance

Bobby Jorgenson

Young, inexperienced medic.

Azar

Helps O’Brien with his revenge plot.