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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

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A burden, by definition, is a heavy load that is often difficult to carry. War, both for a country and an individual, is one of the headiest burdens to be shouldered with. War forces change in men both physically, emotionally, and mentally. In the short story “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien the tough weight the infantrymen must carry is both physical and emotional. When O’Brien begins naming off equipment in just the second paragraph of the story it is apparent that what these men shoulder must be by necessity only. Therefore, everything that will be described from hereinafter is essential, strategically calculated, and varies personally from man to man. Five lines of text are taken up describing a few military necessities the men …show more content…

From our initial introduction we can see that Lieutenant Cross is distracted and not focusing on the war he’s fighting in. Instead, Cross’ mind is on a young girl back home who he is not even sure reciprocates his deep love for her but he clings to her memory because a sweetheart is often one of the few escapes from war a soldier has. “On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out the column, to keep their eyes open, but then he would slip away into daydreams, just pretending, walking barefoot along the Jersey shore, with Martha, carrying nothing” (O’Brien, 641). Cross does this throughout the story, drifting in between the war and his imaginary Martha, and it doesn’t pose an issue for him until an April afternoon. One of the Lieutenant’s men, Ted Lavender, gets shot in the head while the rest of the company is distracted and Cross takes the soldier’s death personally and in result feels like a failed leader. As a result, the next morning Cross burns Martha’s letters and photographs, he swears off any further fantasies, and makes a personal vow to become a harder, crasser officer for his men. Cross becomes acutely aware to the fact that these men’s lives are in fact his to shoulder and protect, the event serves as a major reality check and turning point for the

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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.

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Conflict In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1041 Words | 5 Pages

Costing him the life of his friend and brother in combat, Ted Lavender. He never would forgive himself for Lavender’s death, how could he? These men were his responsibility and he was more focused on a girl on the other side of the earth. He felt the weight of guilt crawl slowly up his back and make it’s home deep in his rucksack, never to be relieved. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross wanted to find a way to ease his grieving heart.

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How Did Lieutenant Jimmy Cross Get Responsible For The Loss In The Things They Carried

725 Words | 3 Pages

He feels guilty because the men in his company are under his command and he was supposed to keep them safe, but he failed because he wasn’t paying attention. He kept daydreaming about Martha, who Lieutenant Cross had a crush on, when he should’ve been paying attention to the battle happening at the time. And as a result, he blames his obsession on Martha and himself for the death of Ted. To atone for the death of Ted, Lieutenant Cross decided to burn “Martha’s letters” (Tim O'Brien 22), pictures, and threw away a pebble that Martha had given him. He threw away all reminders of Martha to make sure that the memory of Martha would never distract him again so that his men won’t have to die like Ted

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Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis

784 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’brien reveals the hardship of war through different accounts of soldiers who experienced them. More specifically, he discusses the impact different characteristics of war had on the soldiers and the war itself. Tim O’brien uses personification, cause and effect, descriptive diction, and metaphor to convey how the animals made war horrifying, and the soldiers paranoid. Tim O’Brien’s purpose for having descriptive diction is to emphasize how the unordinary bugs terrified Rat, which ultimately made war horrifying. He reveals, “{Rat} couldn’t stop talking.

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The Things They Carried Rhetorical Analysis

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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The Soldiers In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

559 Words | 3 Pages

Emotionally dragging people down one by one, war brings sweat, tears, and blood. Although soldiers do carry many physical items, each individual also carries responsibilities which are not visible, but tend to weigh one down immensely, such as the lives of men. In the novel The Things They Carried, written by Tim O’Brien, he describes the items which the soldiers carried such as “taking up what others could no longer bear. Often, they carried each other, the wounded or weak. They carried infections.

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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.

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Emotional Burdens In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

1509 Words | 7 Pages

The author was writing the story “The Things They Carried” expressed so many thoughts and feelings about what the soldiers had faced, they showed their feelings and duties, life or death, and overall fear and dedication. This story shows the theme of the physical and emotional burdens that everyone is going through in the war. By showing his readers what the soldier’s daily thoughts are and how they handle what is going on around them. Tim O’Brien expresses this theme by using characterization, symbolism, and tone continuously. In the story, physical and emotional burdens plagued several characters as they all had baggage weighing them down.

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A Soldier's Burden 'By Tim O' Brien

612 Words | 3 Pages

The weight of each item and piece of equipment is used to further illustrate the toll the war takes on its participants. O’Brien mentions the weight of their gear early in the story. The narrator, Cross, lists the standard equipment every soldier carries

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Symbolism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

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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Lieutenant Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

307 Words | 2 Pages

The story would also explain what the soldiers carried and why. It covered what they carried for personal possessions, safety, and survival. A personal possession for the Lieutenant was letters from his

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Reflective Essay: The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

747 Words | 3 Pages

Cross and his obsession with Martha. Eventually, after a death in the group, LT. Cross was distracted and he decides to burn the letters Martha sent him. “On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First LT. Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters…

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Weight In The Things They Carried

770 Words | 4 Pages

(8) His ultimate job was to be a leader for his men and carry the responsibilities, yet instead, he was focused on himself and his possible future with Martha. In addition, Cross carried “phantom jealousy” (8). He loved Martha—“He loved her so much.” (8)—yet at the same time, “he wondered who had been with her that afternoon.” His awakening came along with the death of Ted Lavender.

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The Things They Carried Point Of View Analysis Essay

1267 Words | 6 Pages

The main character, Lieutenant Cross struggles between his love and his responsibilities. Ted Lavender dies in the story and the soldiers are all shocked; it causes Lt. Cross to give up his love and become a man. In the story, Tim O’Brian uses a total omniscience point of view, which reveals Lieutenant Jimmy Cross as distracted, sentimental, and caring. This causes the reader to feel admiration for him leading the country, but also empathy because he is struggling physically and emotionally. Tim O’Brian conveys the theme that war weighs heavily on a soldier.

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The Things They Carry Rhetorical Analysis

702 Words | 3 Pages

Tim O'Brien's “The Things They Carry,” tells a story about the lives of young men during war. The narrator tells his story from first person, marking all of his adventures and experiences of his companions. O’Brien crafts his piece through the use of repetition, symbolism, and metaphors to convey the idea of physical and psychological hardships of soldiers during war. Though the literary device of repetition, O'Brien portrays the physical and psychological hardships of a soldier.

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