Lieutenant Jimmy Cross: The Things They Carried

641 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The things they carried analysis essay

One of the main characters of The Things They Carried ,written by Tim O’Brien ,named Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and he was only 24 years old, yet he carried the responsibility for the lives of his men. Like most men in the war Jimmy Cross did not sign up for it, he was drafted, and often times his mind was elsewhere trying to escape the realities of the war. He was young and often thought about what most do at his age, women. He had a particular girl, and he was often caught daydreaming about this girl back home. Her name was Martha and she was an English major at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, she played volleyball and was a junior in college. In a way Martha represented a religion to him, and he worshipped her day and night. Although Martha was not interested in Cross, he was still interested in her and loved knowing that the love was not returned. The way that the men escaped their reality differed and for Cross, Martha was his distraction. Cross was indeed a martyr. Much like a martyr he endured great suffering brought on by saying goodbye to all that reminded him of Martha on behalf of a belief or cause such as keeping his men alive during the war.
In some ways Lieutenant Jimmy Cross symbolizes Jesus Christ. Their initials are the same and much like Jesus Christ, Cross sacrificed something for other people. Jesus sacrificed his life in order to give salvation to the people that he led. In The Things They Carried, Cross gave up his love of Martha, she was his life in a way, and she kept his mind occupied and away from the reality of the war. He sacrificed Martha, he “burned Martha’s letters. Then he burned the two photographs” of her. He renounced her completely, he told himself “no more fantasies” meaning Martha all i...

... middle of paper ...

...ave been. That night Cross “felt shame. He hated himself. He loved Martha more than his men, and as consequence Lavender was now dead.” Cross sobbed that night “he was grieving for Ted Lavender, but mostly it was for Martha, and for himself, because she belonged to another world” he came to the realization that he could no longer think about her because she did not love him the way that he loved her. He also could not continue to put her before the wellbeing of his platoon. So he gave up on her and the idea that they would ever be together.
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross tried to lead his platoon the best he could. Often times Martha would be a distraction for him. In the end Cross gave up his love for Martha for the love of his men and the value of their lives. He gave up everything that kept him willing to live in order to keep the lives of those who he was in charge of.

Show More
Related

  • Women and Their Role in The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the first women introduced to the reader was Martha. Martha is Lt. Jimmy Cross's love interest, even though she has only ever considered him a friend and nothing more. O'Brien uses the story of him and his misguidedness to show how the soldiers were completely separated from the war. After the war is over, the soldiers return home attempting to get back to their normal lives.

    Read More

  • Tim O'Briens' Perspective and Statements in Regard to Storytelling and Relationship to the Truth in The Things They Carried

    1411 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the first chapter of The Things They Carried, O'Brien lists all of what each man brings with them to war. It seems very truthful, but there is doubt in your mind as to whether or not Jimmy Cross really carried letters from a girl named Martha or even if a girl named Martha really existed.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried by Tim O´brien

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lt. Jimmy Cross is extremely affected by Martha as his one time girlfriend; he is obsessed with even the thought of her.-- So obsessed with her, he even becomes distracted to the point an accident occurs for which he blames himself for the longest time. That Martha was a distracting factor shown through Tim’s observations of Lt. Cross. He loved her so much. On the march, through the hot days of early April, he carried the pebble in his mouth, turning it with his tongue, tasting sea salt and moisture. His mind wandered.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...g exclusively on the war and men of whom he is in charge of. It ends up taking the death of one of his men, Ted Lavender, for Jimmy to realize that he needed to get his priorities straight; which included, being the leader that his troops deserved. In conclusion, Jimmy’s character traits changed immensely, from several negative traits in the beginning, to ample positive traits in the end. Jimmy took on his responsibility as the First Lieutenant, and began taking the necessary steps to bettering himself, along with his troops.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Cross In The Things They Carried

    1657 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since Jimmy Cross was the oldest he was an evident leader and assumed responsibility. Since Jimmy Cross took upon the leadership role, his memories with the war will be carried forever. For example, when Cross encounters another split-making decision regarding his soldier’s lives; he is given a warning to not make the same repeat mistake he did with Lavender and attempt to not get distracted with the concept of love but war is unpredictable and so are the burdens and consequences. Cross’ has the ability to choose the next campsite; he has told to put the camp in the field despite being warned it was a trap by the locals who lived there. This was a foreshadow to imminent death that happens later in the novel. The campsite was a trap and Kiowa, Alpha Company’s soldier, was exploded by rounds of mortar and died. This made Cross responsible for a part of a soldier’s death. This is a big part of the theme of emotional burdens such as guilt that carries with Jimmy Cross. "When a man died, there had to be blame. Jimmy Cross understood this. You could blame the war… A moment of carelessness or bad judgment or plain stupidity carried consequences that lasted forever." (115) shows us the struggles and emotional burdens that must have carried afterward with Cross and his platoon, all this from the result of plain carelessness despite trying not to focus on Martha and overcoming his obstacles. Other soldier’s such as Mitchell Sanders cannot make sense of their fellow soldier’s death and his only way to feel that Kiowa’s death was not meaningless and sad was to blame someone. "Ten billion places we could've set up last night, the man picks a latrine." (28) This is exactly what Mitchell Sander’s did towards Jimmy Cross, putting all the blame on him. This not only affecting Sander’s emotionally but also Cross’ which puts them with more burdens than ever before.

    Read More

  • The Baggage of Jimmy Cross in “The Things They Carried”

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jimmy Cross, being only twenty-four years old, was very inexperienced, as were most of the others serving in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien said it best, “He was just a kid at war, in love” (600). This quote sums up Lt. Cross completely, he was just an inexperienced kid at war and his immaturity led him to be blinded by love and put love before responsibility. He did not intend for anyone to get hurt, he was just too young and inexperienced to realize how important his role as First Lieutenant really was. After facing different things in the story, he gains some experience and realizes how important...

    Read More

  • Comparing The Identities Between Redeployment And The Things They Carried

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the two novels of recent war literature Redeployment, by Phil Klay, and The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, both call attention to the war’s destruction of its soldiers’ identities. With The Things They Carried, we are introduced to the story of a young Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who is currently fighting in the Vietnam War and holds a deep crush for his college-lover Martha. Jimmy carries many letters from Martha with him throughout the war, and he envisions this romantic illusion in which “more than anything, he want[s] Martha to love him as he love[s] her” (1). However, a conflict quickly transpires between his love for Martha and his responsibilities with the war, in which he is ultimately forced to make a decision between the two.

    Read More

  • Figurative Elements In The Things They Carried

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    The text reveals that the soldiers have a hard time with the death of ted lavender. For example, they describe ted’s death as if he just ‘’flat fuck fell’’— [The things they carried] The lieutenant cross felt the pain of losing one of his men and he blamed himself for it. One of the characters Kiowa explained how fast it had been. The guy had dropped like so much concrete.’’ Boom – down like cement’’. The lieutenant cross felt the pain of losing one of his men and he blamed himself for it.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried Character Analysis Essay

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, each soldier carries many items during times of war and strife, but each necessity differs. This short story depicts what each soldier carries mentally, physically, and emotionally on his shoulders as long, fatiguing weeks wain on during the Vietnam War. Author Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran, an author, the narrator, and a teacher. The main character, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, is a Vietnam War soldier who is away at war fighting a mind battle about a woman he left behind in New Jersey because he is sick with love while trying to fulfill his duties as a soldier to keep America free. Tim O’Brien depicts in “The Things They Carried” a troubled man who also shoulders the burden of guilt when he loses one of his men to an ambush.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Cross: Life Story

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Initially, Jimmy Cross started his mission with a distorted image in his head, which lead to his amazing turn around in the end. Jimmy cross had to learn the hard way, that fantasies aren’t real, they are just thoughts the mind wants to believe. He soon learned what reality was, even though it wasn’t the easiest or most of all pleasurable, way to figure out the truth. Ted Lavender’s death was a blessing in the sense that Jimmy turned his whole life around and started to focus on what support to give his men to succeed and be better survivors, than Ted Lavender was. Jimmy cared for his men towards the end, that lead him to understand what love is. “Love”, is a very powerful word, that has the power and prestige to make some people zone out of their own world and live in fantasy land, as did Jimmy. Jimmy cross carried integrity and grace in the beginning of the story, but by the end added faith and hope to his nap sack that helped him become a better person for his men.

    Read More

  • Jimmy's Innocence

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jimmy believes that he truly loves Martha. Although the love from Martha does not seem to be reciprocated. Jimmy says of these letters, “They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping… after as day’s march he would dig his fox hole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with his fingers and spend the last hours of light pretending” (O’Brien 2640). The way that Jimmy pretended night after night that Martha truly loved him shows Jimmy’s innocence in the way of love. He knows logically that Martha does not really love him but the innocence inside him can not help but want her love. He also says of the letters, “ They were signed Love, Martha, but Lieutenant Cross understood that Love was only a way of signing and mean what he sometimes pretended it meant” (O’Brien 2640). This is a continuation of Lieutenant Cross’s pretending. The way the Cross continually pretends that Martha loves him is a way of protecting himself from the truth, to protect his

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'The Red Convertible'

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    The main symbol in “The Things They Carried” is the necessities they carried as well as personal belongings. Each item tells a story that shows the past life on the soldier. Rat Kiley, the medic, carried M&M’s with him at all times. They were not to snack on during breaks. He brought them to provide as a placebo for soldiers who weren’t critically wounded and weren’t going to make it. The candy made some soldiers believe it was a painkiller and actually kept them alive and importantly quiet Ted Lavender’s tranquilizes and dope help reduce his fear. Kiowa carried an illustrated New Testament. For Jimmy it is his letters from Martha, it symbolizes the life that he wishes he could be living back at home with her. However, all of them carried one thing in common, the coward trait, the instinct to run at any given moment. Piedmont-Marton argues in her critical essay, “The things they carry on their bodies creates the illusion of unity and collaboration, but the fragile collective is always compromised by the things they carry inside and by the meanings and emotions attached to the smallest and most private of artifacts” (Para 3). She shows that the things that weigh the most have the least amount of meaning to them. The only thing getting them through times and not putting a bullet in their foot is the weightless mementos they have that give them

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lieutenant Cross is a character who, until the death of a soldier, has been very loose and not taken the war seriously. He had let his soldiers throw away their supplies, take drugs, and sing happy songs in the middle of the serious war. He was only concerned with Martha; he dreamt about being with her, and he was delighted when he received letters from her. Tim O’Brien says, “Slowly, a bit distracted, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder if Martha was a virgin.” (p. 2) This shows how all he cared about was Martha; he was not paying attention to his real life and his surroundings. He was basically living in a world of fantasy because they lived in two separate worlds. Being unable to wake up from this dream made him potentially weak because his mind was always wandering elsewhere, never in the current situation. This made him an easy target for his enemies because if this had gone on, then he would start to fear death, fear fighting, and fear the war. He would become a coward because he would wish for the day when he could be with Martha again after the war. This would greatly weaken him and his army both, and they would most likely lose to the enemy.

    Read More

  • The Burdens of Lt. Jimmy Cross in Tim O'Brien's Story The Things They Carried

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the first paragraph of the story, Jimmy Cross' rank is noted (First Lieutenant) along with the fact that he "carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey" (434). From the outset, the reader sees that Martha plays a pivotal role in his thoughts and actions. The fact that Jimmy Cross "would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire" after he marched the entire day and dug a foxhole indicates that he thinks often of Martha (434). While these thoughts of a lover back home provide some form of escape for Lt. Cross, they also burden him with the obsessive feelings of unrequited love. ...

    Read More

  • Trauma for Soldiers in "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from the woman he loved who was still back at home. “They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack.” These letters Cross carried along with him give in an insight into his past, his present, and his character. Martha, his love, was a long distance from him, but he refused to let his memories of her be erased. It didn’t matter to Cross whether or not the love he had for Martha was mutual, but he would still “spend the last hour of light pretending.” Not only would they remind him of his past, these pictures would also give Cross something to at least hope for and have faith in. It didn’t matter that he would “pretend” that Martha loved him as much as he loved her; the photographs and letters of her that he carried were “suitable” to his personality. These things may have been meaningless to other men, but to Cross they were a sign of hope, his past, and gave him some...

    Read More

More about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross: The Things They Carried

Open Document