Troy And Cory Animosity In The Things They Carried

In “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien takes us back to the Vietnam War. He demonstrates to the reader that not only does each United States soldier carry something physical with them, but they also carry an emotional burden as well. What each man carries is a combination of thoughts, emotions, and past experiences. Every soldier carries the standard military issued equipment with them, which is their physical burden. Their emotional burden is very individualized. For instance, “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha” (O’Brien 493). He wished that they were love letters, but they were not. “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her” (O’Brien 494). Cross is becoming more and more obsessed with
Their relationship is not a typical loving bond, but instead filled with jealousy and animosity. In the play Fences, the father, Troy, grew up in a time when racial inequality was still prevalent. Troy was not able to follow his dream of playing professional baseball due to the fact that he was African American. Troy’s wife, Rose, informs him that “times have changed since you was playing baseball” (Wilson 969). She also tells him that “they got lots of colored boys playing ball now. Baseball and football” (Wilson 369). Their son Cory, who is a teenager in 1957, was high school football player with an opportunity to play college ball. Troy’s jealousy becomes evident during a conversation about a recruiter stopping by. Troy starts the conversation by:
Troy: Your mama tell me you done got recruited by a college football team? Is that right?
Cory: Yeah. Coach Zellman say the recruiter gonna be coming by to talk to you. Get you to sign the permission papers.
Troy: I thought you supposed to be working down there at the A&P. Ain’t you suppose to be working down there after