Apocalypse Now vs. Things They Carried

There are many similarities between the themes in Apocalypse Now and The Things They Carried. The men at war had many similar coping mechanisms. For example, having pictures of woman to motivate them, substance abuse, and a need to represent themselves in a certain light when put in a position of power. In The Things They Carried the Jim Cross carries a picture of a girl from back home that he was not even in a relationship with but he uses her as a motivation to get through the war hoping that one day he will be good enough or man enough to be able to "win the girl". This is similar to Apocalypse Now in during the scenes with the Playboy bunnies. When Chef has alone time with one of them he tell her that he has collected a ton of pictures and articles of her over the years. His case is a lot more sexually driven than emotionally but he was still using the woman as a motivation to get through the war. I do not think that he thought that he would ever actually get to meet her but he still fantasizes about it. Substance use is also similar between the two. In The Things They Carried  Ted Lavender smokes marijuana to calm his anxiety. In Apocalypse Now many of the soldiers calm down by smoking joints together. What is interesting is that Captain does not partake in the smoking but he separates himself and end up filling his canteen with alcohol and then chugs out the bottle. It is almost in a way that he wants his soldiers to see him as an overly strong man who does not need those substances to handle the pressure, which is similar to Jim Cross' desire for perfection, when the truth is that they are just as torn up as the rest but have to internalize it.