Analysis of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and Raising Victor Vargas by Peter Sollett - Essay Example

"The Things They Carried" and "Raising Victor Vargas" There are very often significant gender differences when it comes to opinions about love. Love both unifies and divides people, and it means different things to each individual depending on their backgrounds and life experiences. Love is an ancient subject in terms of its use in book and film, and. "The Things They Carried", by Tim O'Brien, and "Raising Victor Vargas", by Peter Sollett, provides some insights into the ways in which men and women perceive and think about love. Individual perceptions of love are affected not only by gender, but also by environments, backgrounds, and cultures. These factors affect how men and women interact with each other both at the start of and throughout romantic relationships. In the modern world, romantic relationships are vastly different from what they once were. Cultural changes have impacted young lovers just as they have impacted so many other facets of life. Cultural changes which began in the 1960s (Williams) have, over the last few decades, significantly altered the way we live and think. Western society has become increasingly sexually permissive; young people are constantly bombarded with sexual imagery in advertising, television, film, and other entertainment media. The traditional romantic relationship which begins with dating, followed by marriage, sex, and children has turned into something very different. In the modern world casual sex is increasingly common and acceptable; having a sexual relationship does not automatically lead to marriage-it is no longer safe to assume that a couple who have sex will marry or even enter into a relationship. Religion is an influential factor in determining whether or not individuals have sex with one or more partners before marrying; interestingly a religious upbringing is more likely to impact upon women than on men in terms of whether or not they are sexually active before marrying. In the film "Raising Victor Vargas" (Sollett), the family has come from a Catholic background. Victor's grandmother is very religious, but this has had little impact on Victor's personal life-his peer relationships are much more influential. Victor and best friend Harold have similar attitudes towards women. They both see sexual activity as a way of increasing their importance in the neighborhood and enhancing their reputations with their peers. In the very first scene, Victor is portrayed as a sexual person, attempting to seduce "Fat Donna"-he is licking his lips and flexing his muscles, using his body as a tool for seduction. Like most teens, however, Victor is less a Romeo than he is a boy taking his first unsure steps in the adult world of sexual relationships. He has also made a mistake in choosing his target-"Fat Donna" is considered unattractive, and his seduction attempts only earn him the ridicule of his peers. After this encounter, Victor is determined to repair his reputation by setting his sights on the neighborhood beauty, Judy. Judy appears to come from a religious background just as Victor does-she wears the same type of gold cross worn by Victor's grandmother and brother. Unlike Victor, she does not feel the need to enhance her reputation by becoming sexually active; she has an almost opposite view. She sees boys as "dogs", as something that she does not need, and is only irritated by the neighborhood boys who fall at her feet. Judy has resolved to pretend she already has a boyfriend, so that she will not be bothered by other boys. Victor and Judy clearly have very different perceptions of love, sex, and relationships. To Victor they are tools to increase his standing with his peers, whereas Judy has no use for them. "The Things they Carried" (O'Brien) takes place against the background of the Vietnam War-not only the new age of Woodstock, hippie culture, and sex, drugs, and rock & roll, but also a politically turbulent era. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, a young man of this era, has probably been influenced by these cultural changes. As a young adult, he has perhaps absorbed these new values and has a view of sex that is not encumbered by moral guilt. In contrast, Martha attends college in an era in which women were less likely to attend college than men, and less likely to complete degrees if they did attend (Macionis, 344). It can be assumed that she comes from a traditional upper-middle class family; her parents can afford to send a female child to college in an era in which male children would likely get priority. Coming from a traditional family Martha likely has a more traditional perception of sex; viewing it as something done only within marriage. In the story Lieutenant Jimmy Cross reminisces about his first date with Martha; he touches her knee, and the sorrowful look she gives him makes him pull his hand away. He remembers the feeling of the tweed skirt, the look in her eyes when he kisses her at her door, and the way she receives his kiss without returning it (O'Brien, 4, 12). Lieutenant Cross and Martha can be seen as typical of their gender and generation. Lieutenant Cross is depicted as a typical young man on the date; he attempts intimacy with Martha even though he does not know her very well. Martha, however, may still retain more traditional values. She is clearly uncomfortable with the level of intimacy that Lieutenant Cross is interested in. Lieutenant Cross sees this date as a failure because Martha did not return his feelings, but in Vietnam uses his memories of Martha as a way of mentally escaping from the war. Lieutenant Cross continually fantasizes about Martha (Cliff Notes); he thinks about her letters, he wonders if she is a virgin, he thinks about how much he loves her, and he thinks about whether or not she loves him. He constantly remembers the night of their date, thinking about things he should have done, and wishing he had been more aggressive. He and Martha do not seem to have shared any real intimacy, yet for him she has become an idealized fantasy-woman. Years later they meet at a reunion and Martha, on finding out about these fantasies, wonders why men do these things. One interpretation of Martha's reaction to this, and to her reactions on the first date, is that the secret mentioned by Lieutenant Cross is that Martha was once raped (Cliff Notes). This may explain her reluctance to form an intimate relationship with Lieutenant Cross, as well as the fact that she has never married. Oddly, she gives him a new photograph to replace the one he burnt in Vietnam-given that she is uncomfortable with the way Lieutenant Cross has fantasized about her, it is strange that Martha would give him a new photograph of her. This may be an indication of her own confusion about love and relationships. Lieutenant Cross and Martha have very different views of what constitutes intimacy and love: he has built a few dates and letters into something much more than it is, and she is only puzzled, realizing that he has a very different perception of the relationship than she does. In "Raising Victor Vargas", Victor says to Harold; "I get all the hottest bitches out here.What's my name I'm Victor remember thatWhat's my name Victor, Victor" (Sollett). Victor and Judy first meet at a public pool, and before he even approaches her he has both strategy and goal mapped out. Judy, however, is uninterested in his charms. The second time they meet Victor attempts to apologize, but then persuades Judy to enter his bedroom. She agrees, but rejects his physical advances, saying "I'm warning you, don't fuck with me" (Sollett). This situation can be compared to Martha's reaction on her first date with Lieutenant Cross. Judy, however, as a modern girl, is more comfortable rejecting the advances of her would-be lover. Whereas Martha submits to a kiss, Judy is angry and leaves the room. Victor and Judy misunderstand each other because they both have different perceptions of sex and romantic relationships. Judy believes that boys are of no use to her, whereas Victor appears to believe that girls have only sexual value-if he can have sex, his reputation with his peers is enhanced. Their differing views of relationships mean they are unable to communicate effectively with each other. When they begin to have real feelings for each other, Victor discovers that Judy was initially using him only as protection from the advances of other boys. He confronts her, saying "People are saying you're using me, that you're playing head games. Is this what it is, a game This true" (Sollett). Judy responds by telling Victor she believed he was using her to escape his embarrassment over having tried to seduce "Fat Donna". Again, their misunderstanding arises because of the different ways in which they view the opposite sex. In "The Things they Carried", Lieutenant Cross's understanding of love is similar to Victor's, in that it is incomplete. Lieutenant Cross believes that he loves Martha, and obsesses over the letters she sends him, and the date they shared. This is not love, however-for Lieutenant Cross, Martha is a link to home and the life he lived before becoming involved in the Vietnam War. He does not realize this, and instead interprets his feelings as love. Martha unknowingly feeds his feelings, and her letters are vague enough in their sentiments that he is able to believe that she has real feelings for him, or at least that one day she could. For example, she sends him a pebble as a good-luck charm, writing that she found it on the Jersey Shoreline, in the place where they both met. She writes that it is to remind him of the place where they met, and that she found it "precisely where the land touched water at high tide, where things come together but separate" (O'Brien, 8). She also says that it symbolizes her feelings for him. Lieutenant Cross is confused by her statements; he is not sure whether she means they have a future together, or whether she is saying she wants them to separate. He thinks her words are romantic, but he does not understand them. Martha signs her letters "Love, Martha". Lieutenant Cross tortures himself with imagining whether or not she truly means this-he decides that he should not allow this to give him false hope. Martha herself may have an incomplete understanding of love. She never marries, instead becoming a Lutheran missionary, and Lieutenant Cross speculates that she has remained a virgin. However, for an unnamed reason, Martha continues to write to Lieutenant Cross. Perhaps out of friendship, or simply because she sees it as a duty to give him comfort while he is fighting in the war. The relationship between Martha and Lieutenant Cross highlights the way in which environments influence love and romantic feelings. Lieutenant Cross is in a stressful environment he is not mature enough to cope with, and has created a fantasy love which links him to home, and which, ironically, detracts from his ability to successfully lead his men. It is likely that had the war not occurred, the relationship between he and Martha would not have progressed to the stage it did. Each gender perceives love and romantic relationships differently, and these perceptions are influenced by culture, family and peer relationships, and religious background. In both "The Things they Carried' and "Raising Victor Vargas", men are more sexually aggressive than women. This can be detrimental to the relationship, as seen in the "first encounter" episodes in each situation. These stories also highlight the way in which women have become more aggressive, also; Martha is unable to truly reject Lieutenant Cross, going so far as to continue a written relationship with him, whereas Judy is more comfortable rejecting Victor. This difference between the two women indicates the way in which changes in society and culture have altered sex and romantic relationships. Works Cited "ADOLESCENCE." 2006. The History Channel website. 1 Dec 2006, 05:41 . Cliff Notes. "Summaries and Commentaries-Love." The Thing They Carried by Tim O'Brien. 2005. 05 Dec 2006 . Sollett, John. "Gender and Education." Sociology. Eleventh Edition. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2006. 343-344 McWilliams, John. "Booze(drugs), Sex & Rock and Roll." The 1960's Cultural Revolution. Greenwood Press 2000. 09 Dec 2006 < http://www.jcs-group.com/cruisin/booze.html>. O'Brien, Tim. "The Thing They Carried." The Things They Carried. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 1-26 Sollett, Peter. Raising Victor Vargas. Culver City, CA: Samuel Goldwyn Film 2003. 08 Dec 2006 < http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/r/raising-victor-vargas-script-transcript.html>. Read More