Martha is an
English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war
. Though the letters are signed “Love, Martha” Cross understands that this gesture should not give him false hope. He wonders, uncontrollably, about whether or not Martha is a virgin.
What is the significance of Martha in The Things They Carried?
Martha is an
English major who writes letters that quote lines of poetry and never mention the war
. Though the letters are signed “Love, Martha” Cross understands that this gesture should not give him false hope. He wonders, uncontrollably, about whether or not Martha is a virgin.
How is Martha described in The Things They Carried?
The love interest of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. They went on a single date in college. She sent him letters in the war and a pebble for good luck. …
She never marries and spends her time during and after the war abroad
, working as a nurse.
Why do you think it is significant that Martha never mentions the war in her letters what does she represent?
Why is it significant that Martha never mentions the war in her letters? What does this represent? Martha is not a part of the war so she does not mention it.
Martha represents a world away from war.
What is the Pebble Martha sends Jimmy symbolic of?
The pebble, carried by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, symbolizes
multiple things that evolve throughout the text
. It will prove to be a source of comfort, anguish, and relief to him.
What kind of person is Martha?
Basically Martha is a
domineering, forceful, and earthy person
.
How do you think Martha feels about cross?
When the details are filled in years after the fact, the truth of the word “Love” is revealed—
Martha never loved Cross
. In effect, this realization makes only more profound the impact of Lavender's death on the already guilt-ridden Cross.
What does Chapter 2 reveal about Martha?
The narrator asks Jimmy Cross about Martha, and Jimmy reveals a new photo that Martha gave him after the war. It is
a photo of her playing volleyball
. Jimmy and Martha never got married after the war, though he did still love her when they saw each other again in 1979.
What is the theme of The Things They Carried?
The primary theme in the novel The Things They Carried is
the burdens we all carry
. The first chapter of the novel is dedicated to the physical and emotional burdens the men carried with them as they marched: the guns, the gear, the photos, the letters, the hope, the fear, the memories, and the guilt.
What did each character in The Things They Carried carry?
Dave Jensen carries a toothbrush, dental floss, and soap. Ted Lavender (“who was scared”) carries tranquilizers. Mitchell Sanders carries condoms. Norman Bowker carries a diary. Rat Kiley carries comic books.
Why does Jimmy Burn Martha's letters and pictures?
After Ted Lavender is killed, Cross feels deeply guilty that he was not able to protect him, and burns Martha's letters and photo
as way of trying to apologize and make things right
.
What does M&M stand for in the things they carried?
What does M&M stand for?
Candy as a kind of medicine to comfort the badly wounded
.
What is the relationship between Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and Martha?
What is the relationship between Jimmy Cross and Martha? guards a photograph of Martha, a girl who is not his girlfriend, to
maintain a strong link to love and his life at home
. He fails to recognize, however, how love and war are connected, relying instead on his love for Martha as an escape from war.
Where does Jimmy carry Martha's Pebble?
Terms in this set (74) Where does Jimmy carry Martha's pebble? He carries it
in his mouth
.
What does Martha mean?
a female given name: from an Aramaic word meaning
“ lady”
What is the significance of Martha in the Bible?
Martha (Hebrew: מַרְתָּא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem.
She was witness to Jesus resurrecting her brother, Lazarus
.
What does the story of Martha and Mary teach us?
The Bible story of Mary and Martha has confused Christians for centuries. The main lesson of the story places
emphasis on giving attention to Jesus over our own busyness
. Learn why this simple incident continues to baffle energetic Christians today.
Was Jimmy Cross Real?
Jimmy Cross never visited me at my house in Massachusetts, because of course Jimmy Cross does not exist in the world of objects, and never did.
He's purely invented
, like Martha, and like Kiowa or Mitchell Sanders and all the others.
In what sense does Jimmy Love Martha?
Jimmy loves Martha
in all ways
. He constructs this elaborate, fictional, relationship with her because it makes the war easier. He gets hope out of it. Why do the soldiers make jokes about the war and about killing?
What is the theme of Chapter 2 in The Things They Carried?
Tim O'Brien's 1990 novel, The Things They Carried, is about the author's experiences as a young soldier drafted into the Vietnam War. The second chapter, entitled ‘Love,' takes place in the present. The narrator meets with his old Lieutenant and the two reminisce
about the war and love
.
What is the symbol in The Things They Carried?
Baggage and Excrement
. One of the most important symbols in the narrative is baggage. O'Brien names his book The Things They Carried after the objects that the soldiers in his platoon have to carry on their backs.
What does the church symbolize in The Things They Carried?
The abandoned pagoda in this story is a microcosm of American-Vietnamese relations. Dobbins and Kiowa's questioning of their presence in this makeshift church stands in
for Americans' questioning of their army's presence in Vietnam
.
What is the true meaning of The Things They Carried?
The Things They Carried is
a powerful meditation on the experiences of foot soldiers in Vietnam and after the war
. The work is simultaneously a war autobiography, writer's memoir, and group of fictional short stories.
What does LT Jimmy's cross stone represent according to Martha who sent it to him?
Lt. Jimmy Cross, the main character and platoon leader, carries the letters he receives from Martha, a sophomore English major at St. Sebastian's College in New Jersey. He uses the letters, photographs, and the small stone she has sent him as
a way of connecting
to the world outside of Vietnam.
What does Ted Lavender symbolize?
Ted Lavender's name is very symbolic because lavender is a plant/flower which is often associated with
tranquility, peace, and calmness
. It is ironic, because we know that he had a tendency to self-medicate by using tranquilizers like it was nobody's business while his platoon was out there fighting.
What does Henry Dobbins carry emotionally?
Physical and Emotional Burdens
Each man's physical burden underscores his emotional burden. Henry Dobbins, for example, carries
his girlfriend's pantyhose
and, with them, the longing for love and comfort. Similarly, Jimmy Cross carries compasses and maps and, with them, the responsibility for the men in his charge.
How did the old Poppa SAN help the platoon?
Old poppa San aided the platoon
across mine fields He could walk through with out stepping on a mine and killing everyone
.
What is Martha's response when Jim tells her that he still loves her?
Nor is the response that Martha has when she realizes that
George is peeking in her window
, which is to dump the bathtub on his head and yell at him; that could be construed as a violent reaction.
What is Lieutenant cross reaction to Ted Lavender's death?
His innocent reverie is interrupted by Lavender's death, and Cross's only conclusion is that he loves this faraway girl more than he loves his men. Cross's confession to O'Brien, years later, that he has never forgiven himself for Lavender's death testifies to his
intense feelings of guilt about
the incident.
What is the best explanation of why Jimmy Cross is obsessed with Martha?
Jimmy sacrifices his love for Martha for his men in war. This is because
he knows that Martha does not really love him and since he caused one of his men to die
, getting rid of the thoughts of Martha is necessary for Jimmy.
What does LT Jimmy Cross think about Martha?
For one thing, Jimmy Cross spends inordinate amounts of time thinking
about a girl back home named Martha
. … ‘He pictured Martha's smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her.
What they carried short story?
The Things They Carried (1990) is a
collection of linked short stories by American novelist Tim O'Brien
, about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. … He was dismayed that people in his home town seemed to have so little understanding of the war and its world.
Why do you think Rat Kiley The medic carries M&M's for especially bad wounds?
Rat Kiley carries “[all] the things a medic must carry” (5).
The medical items he carries mean that he is constantly dealing with blood and guts and gore and wounds, many that he undoubtedly cannot heal or treat
, hence the reason for the M&M's he “carried for especially bad wounds” (5). … “Thank God for Rat Kiley.
What does Elroy do to tempt time to run away?
How long does Tim stay with Elroy at the Tip Top Lodge? … What does Elroy do to tempt Tim to run away?
He takes Tim fishing right by the border
. Where is the platoon at?
How might Mitchel Sanders yo-yo be seen as a symbol for storytelling?
Mitchell Sanders is a steady character throughout the novel and while his yo-yo is only mentioned in one chapter, it can relate to many different stories and parts of the books. The yo-yo that Sanders keeps with him can be seen as
a metaphor for life
.
Why is it significant that Martha never mentions the war in her letters what does she represent?
Why is it significant that Martha never mentions the war in her letters? What does this represent? Martha is not a part of the war so she does not mention it.
Martha represents a world away from war.
What does the pebble symbolize in The Things They Carried?
Pebble : Jimmy Cross carries the pebble, which he received from Martha, under his tongue. Its presence distracts him from his soldierly duties. Martha wrote that the pebble symbolized
her feelings toward him
, since she found it on the shore, right where things come together and also separate.
What did Jimmy Cross carry emotionally?
In Tim O'Brien's historical fiction novel The Things They Carried, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries
letters and pictures from Martha in the bottom of his pack
. He carries them with him as comfort, reading them at night, until Ted Lavender is killed. Cross burns the letters and pictures after Lavender's death.
