Mark Fossie Character Analysis in The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried Mark Fossie Character Analysis

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Mark Fossie was a medic at a medical detachment in Tra Bong, where Rat Kiley was also assigned. In a show of rebellion to impress his fellow soldiers, he invites his girlfriend, Mary Anne Bell, to live with him in Vietnam. Mark is proud of his attractive and feminine girlfriend, who he’s been going steady with since middle school and who has always been committed to an idealized future of marriage, children, and lifelong love. Mark becomes increasingly uncomfortable as Mary Anne adjusts to life in Vietnam. Amazed at first by seeing her behave in ways he never imagined, as she drifts further and further from the naive girl she used to be, he attempts to send her home or reestablish control over her behavior in other ways. When Mary Anne permanently joins the Green Berets, Mark is stricken with grief. He views Mary Anne as lost, and he struggles to come to terms with the reality that his innocent girlfriend is long gone.

Mark Fossie’s character operates on two levels. On the one hand, his horror at his girlfriend’s transformation into a brutal Green Beret is understandable, as he’s lost the idealized life he imagined he’d have with her upon his return home. For many men, the thought of returning home to a happier life was what motivated them to get through the war. Additionally, his grief also encompasses the fact that he decided to bring Mary Anne to Vietnam, and that decision had dire consequences. After all, the necklace of human tongues that Mary Anne wears suggests that Mark has indirectly led his girlfriend into circumstances that have turned her into a killer. However, on the other hand, Mark’s perception of Mary Anne is an entitled one. He sees her as an extension of himself, someone who will cater to and validate his life circumstances without being changed in the process. While he and his fellow soldiers all understand that war has changed them to some extent, he expects that Mary Anne will remain entirely innocent and will be able to return to her former life unaffected. He vastly underestimates how Mary Anne’s perception of the world will change when she’s given a taste of violence, independence, and life in a new, strange place. His increasing horror at Mary Anne’s transformation directly correlates to his loss of control over her personhood and behavior.

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