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The Things They Carried Correct Answers Latest Update
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The Things They Carried Correct Answers Latest Update
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The Things They Carried Correct Answers LatestUpdate
The Things They Carried" -ANS>Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, of the Alpha Company,
carries various reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college in New
Jersey who has given no indication of returning his love. Cross carries her letters in
his backpack and her good-luck pebble in his mouth. After a long day's march, he
unwraps her letters and imagines the prospect of her returning his love someday.
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. He carries her photographs, including one
of her playing volleyball, but closer to his heart still are his memories. They went
on a single date, to see the movie Bonnie and Clyde. When Cross touched Martha's
knee during the final scene, Martha looked at him and made him pull his hand
back. Now, in Vietnam, Cross wishes that he had carried her up the stairs, tied her
to the bed, and touched her knee all night long. He is haunted by the cutting
knowledge that his aff-ection will most likely never be returned.
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. The things they carry depend on several factors,
including the men's priorities and their constitutions. Because the machine gunner
Henry Dobbins is exceptionally large, for example, he carries extra rations; because
he is superstitious, he carries his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck. Nervous
Ted Lavender carries marijuana and tranquilizers to calm himself down, and the
religious Kiowa carries an illustrated New Testament, a gift from his father.
,Some things the men carry are
What does Jimmy do with Martha's letters? -ANS>He burns them
What do Kiowa and Bowker talk about? -ANS>The brevity of life
Who is shot and killed? -ANS>Ted Lavender
Who is the narrator? -ANS>Tim O'Brien
What distracts Cross constantly? -ANS>His unrequited love for Martha
"Love" -ANS>Years after the end of the war, Jimmy Cross goes to visit Tim O'Brien
at his home in Massachusetts. They drink coffee and smoke cigarettes, looking at
photographs and reminiscing. When they come across a picture of Ted Lavender,
Cross confesses that he has never forgiven himself for Lavender's death. O'Brien
comforts him by saying that he feels the same way about other things, and the two
men switch from coffee to gin. They steer the conversation away from the more
harsh memories and laugh about less upsetting recollections, such as the way
Henry Dobbins used to carry his girlfriend's pantyhose around his neck as a good-
luck charm. Finally, by the end of the night, O'Brien thinks it's safe to ask about
Martha.
Cross tells O'Brien that when he finally reconnected with Martha at a college
reunion in 1979, they spent most of their time together, catching up. She had
, become a Lutheran missionary and had done service in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and
Mexico. She had never married and told Cross she didn't know why. Later, Cross
took her hand, but Martha didn't squeeze back; when he told her he loved her, she
didn't answer. Finally Cross told her that the night of their only date, after they
watched Bonnie and Clyde, all he'd wanted to do was to take her home and tie her
to her bed so he could touch her knee all night long. Martha replied coldly that she
didn't understand how men could do such things. At breakfast the next morning,
she apologized and gave him another snapshot, telling him not to burn this one.
Cross tells O'Brien that he still loves Martha. But for the rest of his visit with
O'Brien, he doesn't speak of her. Finally, as O'Brien walks Cross to his car, he tells
his former lieutenant that he would like to write a story about some of what they
have spoken about. After some consideration, Cross consents, saying that
Whom does Cross go to visit? -ANS>Tim O'Brien
When does Cross see Martha again? -ANS>At their college reunion
How does Martha react to Cross's profession of love? -ANS>She says nothing.
What does Martha give Cross? -ANS>A new picture of herself
What does Cross ask O'Brien to do in the book he is writing? -ANS>Make him look
good
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