Tim O'Brien's story ,"The Things They Carried," Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is in charge of a platoon including seventeen men during the Vietnam War. All his attention seems to be drawn to a girl named Martha, who is a junior in college back home and has no involvement in the Vietnam War. LT. Jimmy Cross loves Martha and knows she will never return the same feelings however, he continues to love her even after the war. He thinks about her all the time. He wonders what she is doing, thinks about boyfriends she might have and becomes jealous. It was during one of the times that he is "spaced out" that one of the men in the platoon is shot in the head. Jimmy realizes that it was because of his lack of attention that one of his men was lost. He is now dedicated to the safer well-being of his men and tells himself not to think of Martha anymore. He thinks that the men might possibly become irritated with Jimmy because he is suddenly enforcing more rules for the better safety of the platoon.
Jimmy's desire to be a strong leader for his platoon was disrupted by the "love" he had for Martha back home. Was it really love? It seems to me that it was more of an unhealthy obsession that he wanted to be a reality. They were thousands of miles apart and the "love" only went one way too. She wasn't one of those girls that were "waiting for a man to come home to him." Yes, she wrote letters to Jimmy and he had a picture of her but she never expressed emotions towards Jimmy.
This is a familiar issue, love that is given but not always returned. God's love for us, more often then not, is not returned despite all that he does for us. Another issue is that of not letting emotions get the best of you, this is all around even today. Especially in Vietnam, most men had fears, concerns, and hurt that they not dared let be seen in front of the rest of the platoon. They put on their "war face" and head into battle like many of us today. Many people today act different on the outside, but are crushed on the inside. This could potentially be very hard on a person because of built up emotions, fear, hurt that is never let out.
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I think that is an excellent insight. Anytime I have ever spoken to a new parent they usually say something about how they never knew how much they could love until they had a child of their own; they love their baby more than life, or something to that effect. But it's a scary thought that your own child that you might one day have, might not actually return ALL the love you could ever conjure up. God's love is so beyond human understanding.
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that God's love for us is so huge, yet we over and over again neglect to not only love him back, but to show Him the respect that he so very much deserves. I cannot imagine being in war and the feelings that must so strongly overcome you. What a humbling, yet scary position to be in.
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