ipl-logo

Jimmy Cross The Things They Carried

1357 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The things they carried critical analysis

In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Jimmy Cross is one of the central characters and serves as the platoon leader for Alpha Company. He represents the conflicts and burdens of leadership, as well as the emotional toll of war on soldiers. One of the items that Jimmy Cross carries is a photograph of Martha, a girl he is infatuated with back home. This photograph serves as a symbol of his longing for love, comfort, and a normal life he has always dreamed of during the Vietnam War. The photo represents his distraction to fully focus on his duties as a leader, as he constantly daydreams about Martha. It reveals his vulnerability and the weight of responsibility he carries as the leader of his men. Through Jimmy Cross and his obsession …show more content…

He learns to put the safety and well-being of his men over his personal longings. He burns Martha’s letters and stops daydreaming about her, recognizing that his distraction was extremely dangerous for his soldiers. This transformation signifies his growth as a leader and his understanding of the sacrifices required in war. Overall, Jimmy Cross’s character and the item he carries, the photograph of Martha, provide a deeper understanding of the human experiences, complexities, and vulnerabilities of soldiers during …show more content…

By seeking revenge, Hamlet trapped in a cycle of violence that ultimately destroys the entire Danish court. Revenge results in more revenge, and the play depicts a world where everyone is caught in a web of deceit, betrayal, and death. Furthermore, the tragedy of revenge in Hamlet serves as a critique of the futility of revenge itself. Despite Hamlet’s planning and opportunities for retribution, his actions often result in unintended consequences, leading to more suffering and loss. Shakespeare questions the value of revenge as a means of finding closure and justice, suggesting that it often leads to more harm than good. To draw a conclusion, the tragedy of revenge in Hamlet is a prominent theme in the play, demonstrating the destructive nature of seeking vengeance. Hamlet’s relentless pursuit of revenge causes internal conflicts, brings about a cycle of violence, and ultimately leads to tragic consequences for himself and people around him. Shakespeare’s exploration of this theme raises profound questions about the nature of revenge and its deeper effects on both individuals and

Show More
Related

The Things They Carried Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

670 Words | 3 Pages

Shame and self-hatred surface when Lieutenant Cross realizes “…Ted Lavender [is] dead because he [loves] her [Martha] so much and [cannot] stop thinking about her” (326). Furthermore, the pebble that once symbolized his affection for Martha is replaced with a figurative “stone in his stomach” (332), representative of his guilt. In order to begin to remove his distracting infatuation with Martha, Cross takes the following action: “On the morning after Ted Lavender [dies], First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross [crouches] at the bottom of his foxhole and [burns] Martha’s letters. Then he [burns] the two photographs” (336). Cross’ burning of Martha’s letters and photographs is a physical representation of the transformation in his personality and priorities.

Read More

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

265 Words | 2 Pages

In the book “The things they carried” by Tim O’Brien is about a first Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who was in love with a girl named Martha who was attending Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. He carries pictures and letters that she sent. Cross was a distracted soldier O’Brien states “at dusk, he would check the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole” (2). After returning to his hole he would relaxed and daydream about Martha. While he was daydreaming one of his group members got shot in the head, he blames himself for the soldier’s dead.

Read More

First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross Chapter Summaries

745 Words | 3 Pages

Without Martha Jimmy Cross would have only the idea of war. All the soldiers do, not just the lieutenant. They all have ideas and things that they hold onto in order to keep sane. The chapter continues on about “the things they carry”.

Read More

How Does Jimmy Cross Tell The Story In Chapter 1 Of The Things They Carried

723 Words | 3 Pages

The chapter depicts love as an emotion that is carried as it talks about soldiers who carry physical things needed like a poncho, bug repellent, rations, and how "They all carried ghosts". Lieutenant Jimmy Cross likes to carry letters. Cross carried the letters as reminders of his love for Martha, a girl from his college. He also has no indication of her returning his love, but Cross still

Read More

The Things They Carried By Tim Obrien Characters

1754 Words | 8 Pages

He would sometimes taste the evelope flaps, knowing her tangue had been there. More than anything he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her, but the latters were mostly chatty, elusive on the matter of love." From this quote we can his love for Martha, the way he still had feelings at War , where you had to be focus on serviving and not making a space for love. Martha represents love, even through the fact that she never loved Jimmy Cross, his love for her keeped him alive, she helped him to go through the day. He imagined how one day after war they will be together, he carries her photograph<

Read More

War Altar People: The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1140 Words | 5 Pages

Jimmy Cross carried letters and some photograph of a girl named Martha, he loved Martha so much. He kept the letters safe by putting them in his rucksack, and when he rewrite her letters he would imagine them together, “imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains” (O’Brien 3). He would imagine being with Martha and daydream and he would sometimes daydream about her and how he wants to tie her up in bed and touch her leg all day and how he wants to be the one who gets to make her no longer a virgin. Moreover when Ted Lavender got shot in the head, Cross felt responsible for his death because he was the lieutenant and all he has been doing is daydreaming about a girl that doesn’t love him back. After the death of Ted Lavender, Cross started to change his colors by letting go if Martha and focusing more on the war.

Read More

Soldiers In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1088 Words | 5 Pages

Naturally, the stay in Vietnam also manifests the soldiers’ longings for their loved ones and former lives. “Almost every [soldier] humped photographs” that provided a sense of familiarity in an otherwise hostile environment. For a while, Jimmy Cross carries around mementos of Martha, a girl he loves back home. His mind often wanders, “slip[ping] away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore with Martha” (8) and thinking “of new things he should’ve done [with her]” (4). “Without willing it,” he would start “thinking about Martha…

Read More

Symbolism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

483 Words | 2 Pages

In the first chapter, the author lists things some of the men in Lt. Cross’ corps carry. Some items were necessities and some gave the reader ideas of what kind of person one was based on their possessions. Lt. Cross carried photographs, such as a girl named Martha, playing volleyball or in front of a brick wall. Letters signed love at the end of them, and a lucky pebble from a girl he was infatuated with. From these personal items, we can clearly see that he loves this girl and keeps her close to his heart.

Read More

All Is Not Fair In Love And War Analysis

1009 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

On The Burdens In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

895 Words | 4 Pages

Jimmy cross was the lieutenant of the Alpha Company, being fully responsible for all of the soldiers and getting them through the battles. However, he was battling through his own predicament, his undefying love for an American women named Martha. The constantly daydreaming leader had thought he had lost the respect of all of his soldiers when one of his own men was KIA because of his “love for Martha”. The soldier finally thought, “He would dispense with love; it was not now a factor” (O’Brien 250). After the death of his dear friend, Cross changed into a strict and orderly lieutenant.

Read More

Soldiers In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1019 Words | 5 Pages

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried a map and compass, which symbolized his responsibility of leading his men. Cross also brought the desire for love and a normal life, wherever he went, in the form of letters and pictures from a girl named Martha. The letters were his way of escape from the pressure of leading his battalion. The heaviest baggage Cross carried, though, was grief. When Ted Lavender was shot and killed, Cross had been day-dreaming of Martha, instead on the lookout for danger.

Read More

Roles Of Women In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1466 Words | 6 Pages

“First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha… He would

Read More

Cowardice In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1306 Words | 6 Pages

Jimmy. In the first story of The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross is the first character that is introduced as the Lieutenant that received letters from his girlfriend back home, Martha. Martha is a big distraction to Lt. Cross as she is always in his mind: “[He] gazed at the tunnel. But he was not there. He was buried with Martha…he could not bring himself to worry about matters of security…

Read More

The Things They Carried Intangible Analysis

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

Read More

Quotes From The Things They Carried

995 Words | 4 Pages

Further, into the story, Cross is seen attempting to gather his senses and continue, he even tells himself “No more fantasies” (O’Brien, 13). He would continuously shut down his thoughts about Martha and refused to think about her in any way positively because he was no longer a civilian. He was the leader of the group and “This was not Mount Sebastian, it was another world…a place where men died because of carelessness and gross stupidity,” (O’Brien, 13). In some ways, this seems like O’Brien stressing about war and how change can happen within a matter of

Read More

More about Jimmy Cross The Things They Carried

Open Document