O'Brien has Lavender killed to serve several purposes: Lavender is a symbol of
unweighed fear
. The function of Lavender is to be a doppelganger, a ghostly twin to haunt Cross (a Christ-figure), the one who feels the most guilt for his death.
What does Ted Lavender carry emotionally?
Ted Lavender (“who was scared”) carries
tranquilizers
. … The emphasis is on Ted Lavender, the scared one, who carried tranquilizers.
What is significant about Ted Lavender's death?
In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, a book of linked short stories, Ted Lavender is significant primarily for his death.
He is the first character to die
, so his death inherently marks a change in the narrative: death has touched Alpha company, and it won't be the last time.
Why does the death of Ted Lavender have a great impact on the men in his unit?
Lavender's death is also important because of the effect it
has on his commanding officer, Jimmy Cross
. It is the death of this member of his platoon that wakes Cross up, if only temporarily, to the realities of war and makes him concentrate on being a leader instead of thinking constantly of the girl he left behind.
Was Ted Lavender a real person?
VIETNAM — Ted Lavender, a member of the Alpha Company fighting in Vietnam, sadly passed away in mid-April in 1970 in a small village in Vietnam. He was shot in the head outside one of the villages.
What did Rat Kiley carry emotionally?
In The Things They Carried, Rat Kiley emotionally carries
stories about the war, the responsibility for the lives of the men in the platoon, and the burden of witnessing violence and death
.
Who does Tim refer to as the hero of my life?
The narrator describes
Elroy
as “the hero of my life.” In the graph organizer identify some of Elroy's admirable traits and actions.
What were the soldiers doing when Lavender was killed?
What were the soldiers doing when Lavender was killed?
They were on a mission to tunnel complexes and Lee Strunk had just came back
. What is the “good luck charm” that Norman Bowker carries? The thumb that Mitchell Sanders gave him.
What does throwing away the good luck Pebble symbolize?
What does throwing away the good luck pebble symbolize? The good-luck pebble being thrown away, symbolizes
Jimmy acceptance of getting rid of Martha
. “He would not tolerate laxity. He would show strength, distancing himself.”
What does O'Brien mean by I was a coward I went to war?
Tim O'Brien says “I was a coward. I went to war.” What does he man by this? He didn't stand up for what
he truly believed in
.
Why was Ted Lavender scared?
Like a lot of soldiers serving on the front line in Vietnam, Ted Lavender takes drugs in order to help him deal with the horrors of war. As O'Brien makes it clear from the outset, Ted is
scared of dying
, and the only way he can mitigate his fear of death is by taking drugs of one kind or another.
How did Ted Lavender?
Ted Lavender is
shot in the head and killed outside a small village during the Vietnam War
in The Things They Carried. His death comes entirely out of the blue and deeply impacts his commanding officer.
What did all the soldiers carry in the things they carried?
The narrator, Tim O'Brien, describes the things all the men of the company carry. They are things in the most physical sense—
mosquito repellent and marijuana, pocket knives and chewing gum
.
How did Mary Anne change in things they carried?
Mary Ann starts to
transform when she helps out with the injured, seeing horrible, gory things
. Then she starts going out on ambush in the middle of the night. She admits that it scares her but also makes her feel alive in a way that no one back home would understand.
What did Jimmy Cross burn?
After Ted Lavender is killed, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross burns
the letters he carries from a girl named Martha back home
. Jimmy Cross feels that the letters have made him less aware of what has been going around him in Vietnam and that his negligence was to blame in causing Ted Lavender to die.
What did Tim O'Brien carry physically?
Tim O'Brien: I carried all the standard military stuff:
grenades, ammo, an M16, sometimes an M60
. Letters from mom, dad. Letters from a girl back home. More than the physical, I carried incredible terror with every single step I took.
