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Jimmy Cross Character Analysis

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It’s the American Dream to obtain a balanced life: maintaining love, as well as a stable job. However, this is difficult to achieve as some come across the obstacle of needing to only choose one aspect. This same struggle is shown throughout the books The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, as well as Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel. In The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross, being thrust in the position as a leader of his army, is hung up on his girlfriend thousands of miles away. This often distracts him of his dutiful responsibilities to his men. In the other novel, Nacha, at the age of 85, is the household cook in the La Garza family. She still longs for her fiancé, who was forced to leave the house. Jimmy Cross and Nacha are utilized in both books as a representation of the struggle and inner …show more content…

Because of this, he decides to burn all of Martha’s letters and photos in guilt; in the end, choosing his duty over his undying love. “He felt shame. He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence 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“ (16). The short and concise sentence structure of the “He felt shame. He hated himself” sets a very frustrated and angry tone, similar to the feeling Jimmy Cross was feeling. Furthermore, the parallelism used in these sentences beginning with “he” emphasizes the hate and shame he felt towards his actions. The author utilized a simile when describing the utter sadness and guilt Jimmy Cross felt, saying that he was like carrying a stone in his stomach. He further emphasizes this by once again using the word “carry”, this time showing that he is carrying his feelings as a burden. This shows that after his fellow soldier, Ted Lavender died due to his fantasies of Martha, he realized his mistake and felt shame and

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Throughout the story “The Things They Carried” Lieutenant Cross’ character goes from being a boy at war, to a man that will execute orders sternly to get his men home alive. His character goes through a large change in a short period of time and he is described as having a “new hardness in his stomach (437).” In the story he uses the stone from Martha as a coping mechanism to transition himself into the man he now is. Lieutenant Cross uses the hardness of the stone to create the hardness in his gut when it is implied that he swallows the stone, and this action also signifies the burying of the feelings for Martha deep down.

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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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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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For example, Jimmy has been in love with Martha and carries her letters. These letters are “signed Love, Martha, but Lieutenant Cross understood that Love was only a way of signing and did not mean what he sometimes pretended it meant. " Jimmy’s daydreaming about Martha is a way of escaping the war and his responsibilities as a leader, which later results in guilt. When a comrade is killed he thought that “he had loved Martha more than this men” and that “this was something he would have have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war.” Crosses feels guilty for fantasizing about someone who doesn't even love him and denying his duties as a

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