The Things They Wore by Tim O'Brien "The Things They Wore" lists the variety of things that his comrades in the Alpha Company brought during their missions. Many of these things are not visible, including guilt and fear, while others are specific physical objects, including matches, morphine, M-16 rifles, and M&M's candy. Throughout the collection, the same characters reappear in various stories. The first member of Alpha Company to die is Ted Lavender, a "grunt" or low-ranking soldier, who deals with his anxiety about the war by taking tranquilizers and smoking marijuana. Lavender is shot in the head while returning from using the bathroom, and his superior, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, blames himself for the tragedy. When Lavender is shot, Cross distracts himself by thinking about Martha, a college sweetheart. It is revealed in "Love" that Cross's feelings for Martha, whom he once dated before leaving for Vietnam, were never reciprocated, and that even twenty years after the war, his guilt over the death of Lavender remains. In "On the Rainy River", the narrator, O'Brien, explains the series of events that led him to Vietnam in the first place. He received his conscription notice in June 1968 and his feelings of confusion pushed him north to the Canadian border, which he considered crossing so as not to be forced to fight in a war he did not believe in. . Sitting in a rowboat with the owner of Tip Top Lodge, where he resides, O'Brien decides that his guilt over avoiding war and his fear of disappointing his family are more important than his political beliefs. He soon left, returning first to his home in Worthington, Minnesota, and then to Vietnam. In addition to Ted Lavender, a... middle of paper ...... claims that stories have the power to save people. In the stories of Curt Lemon and Kiowa, O'Brien explains that his imagination allowed him to successfully grapple with his guilt and confusion over the death of his fourth-grade first love, Linda. I like this book because Tim O'Brien explains every single thing that's happening at that moment very well, and you're never confused as to what's happening at any point in the book. The details of the deaths, injuries and injuries are very gruesome but interesting. This book helped me try to imagine some of the fears that soldiers felt during this time. At times in the book, it's almost as if Tim O'Brien is going back and forth between two different stories. This makes his writing style very significant and unique from the style of other writers..