The Things They Carried Essay

Hanzala Siddiqui

Mrs. Prajinta Pesqueda

English III AP AM

02/13/2018

The Things They Carried

Shame and guilt are sometimes associated to the same attribute. In fact, some people might even go as to call them the same thing. However, there is a key difference between the two terms. It is the fact that guilt is knowing you did something bad whereas shame is feeling bad for doing something bad. In the book The Things They Carried, there are some characters who feel shame and some who feel guilt.

Jimmy Cross felt guilt over Ted Lavender's death: “Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.”(O’ Brien 16) Cross felt guilty that Lavender died and blamed himself for his death as he was not paying attention at the time he was thinking about. This is because Cross was thinking about Martha at the time Lavender was shot so he blamed himself: “Jimmy rubbed his eyes and said he’d never forget himself for Lavender’s death.”(O’ Brien 27) The guilt that Jimmy felt was the remorse of his crime. He also felt shame but it was for a different reason. He was ashamed of he thought about and loved Martha more than the men that he was meant to lead and protect: “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men”(O’ Brien 16) Cross was ashamed by his improper thoughts on the battlefield which caused him to be guilty of Lavender’s death. Essentially, shame is what led him to guilt.

Bobby Jorgenson was another character that felt both shame and guilt in The Things They Carried. Jorgensen was new to the war and his inexperience caused him to feel afraid during the war making him unable to do his job. This caused others such as O’ Brien to pay a higher price than they would have had to if Jorgenson had fulfilled his duties. Jorgenson was frozen with fear and was unable to even move and execute his responsibilities: “The noise and shooting and everything - my first firefight - I just couldn’t handle it...it was like my legs were filled up with sand”(O’Brien 199) Jorgensen was frightened and couldn't even think properly. He was ashamed of not being able to fulfill his duties was not what made him feel guilty. It was the fact that, because he didn’t fulfill his obligations, others paid the price for him, that made him feel guilty: “He looked so earnest, so sad and hurt”(O’Brien 200) He felt guilty for his inaction and repercussions that it had on others and wanted to be forgiven. He wanted