Write an essay exploring how the story works in these terms. Who is initiated? Into what?

At one point in her essay, Lorrie N. Smith suggests, in passing, that “The Things
They Carried” is “fundamentally an initiation narrative” (632) not unlike those
featured in the textbook’s “Initiation Stories” album. Write an essay exploring
how the story works in these terms. Who is initiated? Into what? In making your
case, be sure to consider the different arguments the critical excerpts included in
the textbook about O’Brien’s story make, especially about how the story as a
whole encourages us to understand and feel about Jimmy Cross’s thoughts and
actions at the story’s end.