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Jimmy Cross In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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Character Analyze on “The Things They Carried” “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’ Brien, is a story about taking responsibility for one’s actions. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the main character of the story. Jimmy is a lieutenant in the Vietnam War, and is obsess with a girl named Martha. This obsession leads to the death of Ted Lavender. Where Jimmy blames himself for the death of Lavender’s, and not only Jimmy and his men have to carry equipment, but also have to carry the guilt of Lavender death with them. The story ends with Jimmy burning the letters from Martha and taking responsibility for Lavender’s death. The central idea of “The Things They Carried” is that sometimes when facing with crises, one may or may not rise step up …show more content…

He also shows he unable to take care of his men because “he loved [Martha] more than … his men” (953). As shown when Lavender dies when Jimmy was day dreaming about Martha. Lavender death cause Jimmy to resolve his internal conflict and “burned Martha’s letters” (961) and remove Martha from his thoughts. Jimmy blames himself for Lavender’s death and was a consequence for loving “Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead” (958). Which then cause Jimmy to take responsibility for Lavender’s death become a better leader. The external conflict Jimmy faces is Lavender’s death. Lavender’s death cause Jimmy to become a better leader from his men as shown as he “shut down the daydreaming” (962). This shows that Jimmy well stop thinking about Martha and focus more on the war instead. Jimmy Cross is a dynamic character. Lavender’s death cause Jimmy to stop daydreaming about Martha and causes Jimmy to take his role of lieutenant more seriously, and accept the blame for Lavender. “The Things They Carried” is a story about owning up to one responsibility. Jimmy at first does not take his responsibility of lieutenant seriously, but the demise of Ted Lavender cause Jimmy to own up his responsibility. In the end, the reader understands like Jimmy Cross one must take responsibility for

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After Ted Lavender died, Jimmy burned Martha’s letters and photos and promised himself never to get distracted again. Jimmy realize that he was living a fantasy and that it was time for him

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He couldn’t help it (432).” This tells you that he is still just a boy at this point, but he knows that he should not be thinking of Martha he should be worrying about the lives of his men. Even so, Lavender is now dead and Jimmy holds himself responsible: “He would dispose of his good luck pebble. Swallow it, maybe… (437).” Mainly he is trying to get rid of all feelings for Martha, he cared more for her and himself, but he does care also about his

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Jimmy Cross is blaming Martha to hide his own guilt, when in reality ted's death was nobody's fault but the enemy. This proves how people change under conflict. In the things they carried by Tim O’brien, there is a story of how two enemies become friends to survive in the Vietnam War. The story starts with Dave Jensen beating a man by the name of Strunk, but as the war drags on they become friends.

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Tim O'Brien short story "The Things They Carried" is about a unit in the Vietnam War. One of the soldiers “Ted Lavender, a "Grunt" gets shot by a sniper when in route to the restroom. Meanwhile, his superior by the name of, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross points the finger at himself for the catastrophe. One of O'Brien's themes is that emotional problems on soldiers can be heavier than physical problems. Symbolically, the things the soldiers carry represented who they were.

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In war, there is a winning side and a losing side, but both suffer casualties. Afflictions are not always dealt in death and physical pain, but also emotional damage. In Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, he emphasizes war’s capabilities to change people. When Mary Anne, a sweet, innocent, all-American girl, arrives in Vietnam to be with her soldier boyfriend, change is inevitable, and she will eventually lose her naiveté. O’Brien utilizes personification, jarring imagery, hyperbole, and pathos to convey that war shatters all innocence, no matter how hard one may try to avoid the change.

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Cross blames himself, knowing “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead…” (p. 121). First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is distracted by his infatuation for Martha, which ultimately results in Ted Lavender’s death, forcing Cross to realize his fantasies for Martha are wrong and that he is not fulfilling his duties as a lieutenant. Lieutenant Cross is inattentive to the war and his responsibilities because he is unable and unwilling to stop thinking about his adoration for Martha.

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The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, illustrates the experiences of a man and his comrades throughout the war in Vietnam. Tim O’Brien actually served in the war, so he had a phenomenal background when it came to telling the true story about the war. In his novel, Tim O’Brien uses imagery to portray every necessary detail about the war and provide the reader with a true depiction of the war in Vietnam. O’Brien starts out the book by describing everything he and his comrades carry around with them during the war. Immediately once the book starts, so does his use of imagery.

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Tim O’Brien states, “Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (O’Brien 16). In this quote, Tim O’Brien explains that since Jimmy Cross blames himself about Ted Lavender’s death, he will always be in lieutenant’s head. Thus, the lieutenant will always feel the guilt. With this, Tim O’Brien makes the reader think that Jimmy Cross is the person to blame since he is the head of the group and he has to pay more attention to his plans. Having questions about his love, Martha, in his mind instead of being careful about his men is the reason of him feeling guilty that “the lieutenant’s in some deep hurt” (17).

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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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In The Things They Carried, O'Brien explores how shame can be shown in different ways for soldiers, including shame over their own actions, shame over their weaknesses, and shame over their inability to connect with or help others. One of the most notable examples of shame in the novel is the character of Jimmy Cross, who feels intense shame and guilt over the death of one of his men, Ted Lavender. Cross blames himself for Lavender's death, feeling that he was too distracted by his own thoughts of Martha to properly lead his army. This shame continues to trouble Cross long after the incident, even after he has left Vietnam.

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“That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.

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Martha had a big effect on Jimmy cross 's during his adventure in Vietnam. “Jimmy Cross 's had loved Martha more than his man , and as a consequence lavender was dead now and this was something he had to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war and life.” Martha was a young lady that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was obsessed with. It was very possible the distraction of Martha caused lavender to die. Although Martha never loved cross.

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In the story, "The Things They Carried" a narrator describes the life of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The narrator lists what some of the soldiers carried during their experience in the war, emotional and tangible. Tim O'Brien presents the character of Ted Lavender, an obviously frightened soldier, in order to be a spokeperson to symbolize obvious stress within soldiers during their journey. He presents the character of Kiowa, a devoted Baptist, in order to represent how some of the soldiers cope with the exorbitant amount of stress. Tim O'Brien characterizes Ted Lavender as stressed and frightened in order to portray fright during the war within soldiers.

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