Throughout recorded history, war has always existed, however, only recently has humanity recognized its difficulties. "The Things they were carrying" by Tim O'Brien follows a platoon of soldiers during the Vietnam War. One of these soldiers is First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, who is the officer in charge of these soldiers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent.”Shouldn't Video Games Be Banned? Get an Original Essay Throughout the story Jimmy Cross displays a desire to escape, if only for a moment, through daydreams and the consequences of that escape Jimmy Cross kept letters. of a girl named Martha who would read every night when the soldiers had dug holes for the evening “In the late afternoon, after a day's march, he would unwrap the letters, holding them with his fingertips, and spend the day. last hour of light pretending." He stared at photos of Martha wondering what she was doing in New Jersey. This was the routine he had created to deal with the war. At dusk he put away the letters and patrolled the perimeter ensuring its security, or rather the wrong idea of ​​security. By doing so he felt he was fulfilling his duty as a leader towards his soldiers. Cross and his men marched day after day, moving from village to village with Cross occasionally, giving orders to spread the columns before returning to dream of Martha. Cross uses Martha as a way to escape the reality he finds himself in: the constant marching, digging holes, throwing grenades, and firing rounds for the pleasure of knowing that, come nightfall, they will be resupplied. He daydreams about some of the moments he spent with Martha, as well as the times he hoped to spend with her. He daydreamed about being with her on the Jersey shore. He constantly wondered if he was a virgin. It created a pedestal for Martha's supposed purity. His dreams shape his personality throughout the story, how he acts around his men, and how they see him after Lavender's death. They mistakenly think he is mourning death; however, he is simply mourning the fact that he cares more about Martha than his men. Throughout the story Lieutenant Cross is consumed by his thoughts about Martha. He imagines it as his escape route; however, during his escape, he loses track of where he is. He had difficulty thinking about the war and his surroundings as he marched through the jungles of Vietnam. He constantly wonders who took the photos she sent him, whether it was one of her boyfriends or not. He would fall asleep oblivious to anything else, like when Lee Strunk, one of his soldiers, drew the short straw and had to clear a Viet Cong tunnel. “Lieutenant Cross looked at the tunnel. But he wasn't there. He was buried under the white sand on the Jersey shore. [He and Martha] were pressed together and the pebble in his mouth was her tongue” (O'Brien, p. 336). He daydreamed about being on a beach with Martha instead of facing reality in the thick jungle with his soldiers. Her daydream eventually leads to Lavender being shot in the head by a sniper. Lavender's death was avoidable, and he knew it, but because of his infatuation with Martha he couldn't concentrate. The story proceeds by showing how Cross' fantasy turns from comforting to obsession. Annoyed thinking about the movie he went to with Martha when he touched her knee; he said he wanted to take her upstairs and touch her knee all night. After Lavender's death, Lieutenant Cross realized that he was spending too much time fantasizing about Martha. He realized that the thought of Martha loving him was.