A Second Look

In response to Mac’s earlier post “What Do They Look Like,” I thought that I would describe some other characters in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. I found it interesting that O’Brien tends to describe the characters using dialogue and their actions to create a vivid image instead of their character instead of focusing on their contenance.

#1 Ben Whishaw (Norman Scott) as Ted Lavender

“But Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried 34 round when he was shot and killed outside Than Khe, and he went down under an exceptional burden, more than 20 pounds of ammunition, plus the flack jacket and helmet and rations and water and toilet paper and tranquilizers and all the rest, plus the unweighted fear. He was dead weight” (6).

Ben Whishaw often portrays scatter-brained and emotionally damaged characters, which I think fits Ted Lavender. Whishaw’s character Normal Scott in A Very English Scandal, is portrayed as a very anxious and submissive person at first, which is very similar to the way that Lavender acts in the opening chapter. Additionally, Whishaw’s long messy hair gives him the appearance of someone much younger, and I think his appearance compliments Lavender’s naivete and youth.

#2 Juan Pablo Shuk (Ernesto Gamboa) as Dave Jensen

“One afternoon he began firing his weapon into the air, yelling Strunk’s name, just firing and yelling, and it didn’t stop until he’d rattled off an entire magazine of ammunition. We were all flat on the ground. Nobody had the nerve to go near him. Jensen started to reload, but then suddenly he sat down and held his head in his arms and wouldn’t move. For two or three hours he simply sat there” (60).

Juan Pablo Shuk has an intense and unyielding demeanor. I think that Dave Jensen seems a bit older than the other characters, although still reckless and damaged by the war. Jensen’s breaking point in “Enemies” reminds me of Shuk’s character Gamboa in El Barco. Both are incredibly suspicious of others and react violently when put into extreme situations.

#3 Owen Wilson (John Grogan) as Lee Stunk

“[Dave Jensen] showed him what he’d done and asked if everything was square between them. 

Strunk nodded and said, Sure, things were square.

But in the morning Lee Strunk couldn’t stop laughing. ‘The man’s crazy,’ he said. ‘I stole his fucking jackknife’” (61).

Lee Stunk has a crazed and ridiculous reaction to Dave Jensen going off and breaking his own nose. His personality seems to change depending on the moment and the people he is with. I see those characteristics in Owen Wilson as well. Wilson can portray the extremes of characters, and Jensen seems to be very high strung and an emotional yo-yo.

#4 LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) as Kiowa 

“‘Think it over,’ Kiowa said. 

Then later he said, ‘Tim, it’s a war. The guy wasn’t Heidi — he had a weapon, right? It’s a rough thing, for sure, but you got to cut out that staring.’

Then after a long empty time he said, ‘Take it slow. Just go wherever the spirit takes you’” (120).

Kiowa is a dependable character who sees O’Brien through many of his hardships in the war. I think that LeVar Burton and his character, Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation, is a good description of Kiowa. Both Kiowa and La Forge act as counselors, are foils for other characters, and keep calm under pressure. Also, I think that Burton’s haircut from The Next Generation, very precise and not difficult to maintain, is akin to what Kiowa’s hair would be like.

#5 Matthew Gray Gubler (Spencer Reid) as Norman Bowker

“‘I didn’t flip out,’ he would’ve said. ‘I was cool. If things had gone right, if it hadn’t been for that smell, I could’ve won the Silver Star’” (143).

I picture Norman Bowker as a young sleep deprived man. I see him with long scraggly brown hair like some rock stars from the 70s, which makes Bowker look younger than he is. Matthew Gray Gubler fits my visual idea of Bowker, and his character, Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds, shares many of Bowker’s character traits. I think that Bowker would be a jumpy man and struggle to express his thoughts and feelings, just like Gubler’s character.