The Things They Carried

Norman Bowker

Norman Bowker was one of Tim's best friends and fellow soldiers. He was a quiet and polite soldier who hated the pressure of having to be brave and courageous. His lack of bravery loses his chance for one thing he greatly adores, the Silver Star. He left his friend Kiowa in the mud of a river bank, because the smell of the river was too disgusting for him to bear. When Kiowa died, Bowker felt as if he died with him.

Mentally, Bowker carries his conscious with him everywhere and acts cowardly no matter the situation. Bowker also carries a diary with him. The other unusual thing that he carries is a thumb from the body of a dead Viet Cong boy.

Bowker returns to his hometown and can no longer talk to the people there because no one can understand what he went through. He is unsure of what to do with all of his knowledge and memories. His parents support him and know he is intelligent but he cannot find any meaning in a job. Everything he does seems to be silly and he tries to pretend it does not bother him, but deep down it is killing him and he wants his story to be told. He asks Tim to write it for him and ends up committing suicide.

Jimmy Cross

Jimmy Cross is a sensitive, dreamy Lieutenant. Cross must lead his men through the lands of Vietnam. He would much rather be back in New Jersey with Martha, a girl he loves, but seems to not love him back. He is very intelligent but seems unwilling to assume the burden of leadership.

Cross carries the pebble, which he received from Martha, under his tongue. Its presence distracts him from his soldierly duties. Martha wrote that the pebble symbolized her feelings toward him, since she found it on the shore, right where things come together and also separate. He knows she never will, and this tortures him, and distracts him from his work all day. When a man dies and Cross thinks he could have prevented it if he hadn't been thinking about Martha, he abruptly decides that he has to learn to think only of his job in the field.

He never forgives himself for forgetting his responsibility to his men. Still, after the war he continues to love Martha, who never marries and remains mysterious and distant.

Henry