"On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of this foxhole and burned Martha's letters. Then he burned the two photographs. There was a steady rain falling, which made it difficult , but he used heat tabs and Sterno to build a small fire, screening it with his body holding the photographs over the tight blue flame with the tips of his fingers.
He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid.
Lavender was dead. You couldn't burn the blame." (O'Brien. THe Things They Carried. pg.22)
I found this passage to be particularly striking due to its "matter of fact" nature. The Lieutenant has awoken to several life issues. Is he a fit leader? Was it actually his fault for the demise of his comrade? What in the heck is Martha up to? Where did I put my safety blanket (the white stone she gave him.) Is the enemy approaching? These are the thoughts that race the the mind of Lieutenant Cross. He is spiritually burdened with things far beyond his control, and has lost vigilance due to it. He is in jeopardy and needs the deliverance that only those who would share these burdens can provide, be they emotional or physical in nature. whether it be danger of death, or wrong decision, a burden to get rid of this damned apparition. She I think is a metaphore for many things that glimmer and tantalize the soul, perhaps for temporary rapture from a hellish world but its there... and it eases the burden of being a living being, striving for survival. The things he carries he realizes outweigh his own concerns with his own emotional burdens. They must rally, they must "hump" their way together, and in the process try to keep as much of their souls intact as possible.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mareen/151795866/
I like your comment that Martha is "a metaphor for many things that glimmer and tantalize the soul, perhaps for temporary rapture from a hellish world." The more I read of his infatuation with Martha, the more it seemed that the whole relationship was untenable. It's interesting that he chooses a woman to obsess about who's so emotionally unavailable and disconnected. Not only is she literally on the other side of the world, but when they were together she was there was still a huge distance between them. It almost seems that in letting this relationship go, he's able to finally establish some of her emotional distance and perspective in himself, so that he can be a better leader.
ReplyDeleteTeresa,
ReplyDeleteI would agree that yes the Lieutenant was shocked wake from his day dream because of his comrades death. I think he felt that if he was not day dreaming about Martha he would have hear or seen the enemy and warned his group. At least when he was burning the letters and pictures of a person that he didn't really know he realized that the gesture was futile and it wouldn't bring back the people who died or stop others from dying in the future. Good post.