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Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

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“Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water” (2). These are just some of the essential items that the soldiers carried with them throughout the war. Tim O’Brien uses tangible and intangible items in The Things They Carried to symbolize each soldier's feelings and thoughts towards those items. The personal items that the soldiers carried must of worth some value to them, since they brought it to war. Such as Lieutenant Jimmy Cross or JC for short brought many tangible and …show more content…

That includes many letters from Martha, pictures of Martha, and a pebble that Martha found and give it to him. The reason why Lieutenant Cross keeps his love for Martha is because he wants to maintain a strong link to love and his life at home. He uses her as a distraction from the war because war is rugged and uneasy. “ I love her” (28). He says he loves her but does he mean it. Martha and Cross have no relationship with each other what so ever, but he keeps her in his mind because it keeps him sane and it keeps him from going crazy. He believes that Martha and himself have a long future together, but the only date that they went on was a little rendezvous where he supposedly touched her knee. Ever since that day he has had the biggest crush on her and he won't stop fighting for her love. Cross also carries responsibility for his men and the guilty feelings …show more content…

One of the things that he carries his girlfriend's pantyhose. Dobbins believes that somehow his girlfriend's pantyhose carries properties of a good-luck charm. He brings it with him wherever he goes, even when he’s sleeping he’ll put the stockings up against his face. After Dobbins saw his girlfriend again they eventually broke up, but he still kept the panties because it helped him. “The magic doesn’t go away” (112). Just because they broke up, it doesn't mean that the stockings stopped working all of a sudden. Another thing that Dobbins carried with him is his sentimentality. He's a sophisticated, kind-hearted, and a genuinely nice person that many people got along with. From the moment he stepped foot into the pagoda all the monks liked his company more than anyone else even though they have never met him before. All the monks respected him and he respected them back because he’s a genuinely nice person. “All you can do is be nice. Treat them decent, you know”

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670 Words | 3 Pages

Lieutenant Cross comes to realize “his obligation was not to be loved but to lead” (337). Meaning can be found in the fact that as Cross no longer carries these gifts Martha sent him, he is beginning to free himself of her distraction and the fantasy-like mindset he has. However, now he must carry the weight of the guilt of Lavender’s death and the responsibility of being a tough

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711 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning, Lt. Cross was all in love with Martha and nothing else came close to even being thought about. Martha was a girl that he met before going overseas when he went over they started sending letters to each other. Although those were not lover letters, Cross always hoped that one day they would be, “Wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

He is conflicted with the emotional burden of loving Martha and his responsibility to his men. Cross is the Lieutenant of this platoon, meaning that he is their leader and ultimately responsible for the outcome of all their lives. Even though it is easy to see how these men need an escape to help them survive the daily task of fighting, the illusions of being somewhere else can result in additional weight being

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1174 Words | 5 Pages

Cross loves the idea of Martha, as he wants the stability and connection that she brings to the table to get his mind off the fact that he is in the middle of a war. Martha stands as a beacon of bright light in the middle of his darkness, and that’s why it’s so hard for Cross to come to terms that maybe this isn’t good for him. As time passes, Cross continues to think about his situation, and he eventually becomes more sensible “He was realistic about it”. There was that new hardness in his stomach. He loved her, but he hated her.

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1009 Words | 5 Pages

Along with his military gear, O’Brien states, “Lieutenant Jimmy Cross humped his love for Martha up the hills and through the swamps” (p. 115). Cross loves Martha, and “More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her” (p. 114), but is unsure of whether she loves him back. Despite his uncertainty,

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938 Words | 4 Pages

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross kept a photograph of Martha, a girl who is not his girlfriend, to keep the feeling of love. When Lt. Cross was checking on Lee Strunk, who was searching a tunnel, "suddenly, without willing it, he was thinking about Martha. . .

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Jimmy Cross is the first lieutenant who carries pictures and letters from Martha, the woman he loves who—sadly—does not love him back. The pictures and letters from Martha symbolize Jimmy’s longing to be loved and comforted. It is ironic that although he is the first lieutenant who is expected to take charge and lead others, yet he never took charge of his own love life. This is a regret and burden Cross carries to the end of the story. “It was very sad, he thought.

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854 Words | 4 Pages

Lt Cross thought “he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (p567). This is when the story began to turn. Lt Cross became overwhelmed with guilt, he blamed himself for the death of Lavender. If only he could keep the thoughts of Martha's letters, and face out of his mind, he would be able to guide his team safely through this war. “...yet he could not bring himself to worry about matters of security” (pp 570), this is when Lt Cross realized that it was he who was in charge of the team, and the emotional heartfelt daydreaming had cause the loss of one of this

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405 Words | 2 Pages

In order to be a successful lieutenant, Cross can't focus on love. Among soldiers exists a belief that love is a feminine emotion, and therefore, love and war can't coexist. If his soldiers envision their superior as a friend, with whom they can discuss lighthearted topics with, Cross's unit won't sustain the same war-like mentality their opponents put forth. In “The Things They Carried”, Cross burns Martha’s letters to represent the destruction of his love for her, “On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters” (O’Brien 22). Burning the letters was a physical gesture that was meant to dispel all feelings of love towards “sweetheart”.

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1003 Words | 5 Pages

He wants to focus on his men, even if he did not want the position of Lieutenant. However, thinking about Martha completely paralyzes him. That one distraction, his one and only way out of the war while he fights, cost a man his life. To counteract that distraction and guilt, he burns the pictures he has of her, throws away the pebble she sent him and gets rid of the letters as well, he still holds onto the love. Even years and years after the war, he still holds onto the hope that one day she would love him the way he loves

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760 Words | 4 Pages

In The Things They Carried Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would daydream about his love Martha, Keeping her letters and reading them repeatedly, and Staring at her picture everyday. He carried his love and passion for Martha with him everyday even thought he was positive that the feelings were not returned Jimmy cross showed true examples of tangible and intangible

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288 Words | 2 Pages

Although Martha never returned Jimmy Cross’s affections towards her, and although Jimmy understands that on some levels, he continues to fantasize and obsess about her in order to carry himself through the war. Martha, to Jimmy, is not a living and breathing person; much like Kiowa carries his belief in God with him, Jimmy carries his obsession with Martha, his continual wondering about her virginity or her poetry in order to distract himself from the pain of war, in order to believe there are still beautiful things left in the world. He does this without wanting to; even when he is desperately trying to look out for his men, his subconscious is still forcing him to dream about Martha: “ And then suddenly, without willing it, he was thinking

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773 Words | 4 Pages

As O’Brien explains, “Lieutenant Cross kept to himself. He pictured Martha's smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about

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601 Words | 3 Pages

When she came aware of the obsession Jimmy Cross had for her eventually it turned her off . In The things they Carried Martha and Jimmy Cross situation is a symbol of love that Jimmy cross have

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869 Words | 4 Pages

This is his attempt to “burn the blame” but soon Cross realizes that is impossible and that he will always carry that emotional burden of guilt. (259). Cross needs to forget about Martha and make sure he puts his men before some girl. Cross has to carry the weight of all the men in his group just like Christ did. He is responsible for the soldiers’ lives and the outcomes that will happen with them.

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