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The Things They Killed Jim Cross Character Analysis

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Viet Nam War was a terrible phobia to Vietnamese and American whenever it is mentioned; It was horrible, dolorous, and sanguinary war. O'Brien with a success of the story " The things They carried'', and he also said some aspects of Vietnam war. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a protagonist of the story; he has a mad love with Martha. Although Jimmy Cross is very young, he is '' As a lieutenant and platoon leader First. '' (Brien 36)-- his duty is '' Responsibility for the lives of his man. '' (Brien). Moreover, every story always has a theme; the changing of characters and situations will make a theme of the story. Therefore, What is theme of the story’’ The things They carried’’ O’Brien suggest for readers ?. One of an assumption of O’Brien …show more content…

Jimmy Cross blames himself that Ted’s death is his fault;’’ He would accept the blame for what had happened to Ted Lavender’’( 351) because he did not complete his duty---responsibility for living of his men.--‘’felt shame’’, ‘’hated himself’’, ‘’ grieve for Ted Lavender’’ ( 345). From now, the things Jimmy Cross carries is disappointed, regretful, guilty, and depressed; moreover, Ted Lavender is an obsession for him at this time. Jimmy Cross also realize that Martha is the reason that he can not concentrate on his mission and leads to the death of Ted Lavender; therefore, he decided to ‘’burned the two photographs’’,’’ disposed of his good-luck pebble’’, ‘’ dispense with love’’. Although it is very difficult to get Martha away in his mind, he really loves her so much, it is the only thing that he can do to forget Martha. Now, ‘’ Lieutenant Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead’’. He is trying to do become a real leader and do a truly outstanding accomplishment of his duties to appease the remorse about the death of Ted—without thinking about Martha. After the death of Ted, it shows that he is a real man because he takes responsibility for what he did and how to handle with his mind. Although it is very hard for him to forget Martha, his heart gets will pain and his love for Martha is done, he tries to do it. Jimmy Cross also realized that important

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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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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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Lieutenant Cross decided he must remove all distractions of Martha and home and begin to focus on his responsibilities. These unexpected losses helped Lieutenant Cross recognize his responsibility and aided him to become a leader who did not let his personal life obstruct with his duties as an officer. He burned Martha’s letters and photographs and threw away her good luck charm (O'Brien). No more fantasies, he told himself. Henceforth, when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think she belonged elsewhere (O'Brien).

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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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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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If you asked someone what the topic of the book is they would probably tell you that it is about war. They would be mistaken, The things they carried is a book about love and loss. Across the entire book the stories “The Things They

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I think of Lt. Jimmy Cross as a young man who wasn’t prepared to leave his loved ones to fight in a war. He left his normal life filled with regrets of not doing “something brave” (5). His young adult life was taken from him by the war. He had to experience things that no normal twenty four year old man would have to. He wanted to be in love with a girl and have her love him back.

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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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Lieutenant Cross is putting all of his commitment as a leader to the back of his mind while making Martha his limelight. O’Brien includes a lot of background information

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He accepted the blame of Ted Lavender’s death because he was more focused on Martha than he was about his troops. Wesley states that while Jimmy Cross accepts the blame he thinks this will make it all better by accepting heroic responsibility. This relieved the stress upon Cross and made him feel as if he was even more of a leader and not a coward. When Ted Lavender died they treated it as if it was nothing but a daily routine.

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The narrative switches between Jimmy Cross thinking about Martha and him describing what the soldiers were carrying. These two narratives did not really coincide other than he carried letters with him from Martha along with his war gear. There are small instances of dark humor, another post-modernism trait, in “The Things They Carried” as well. I thought that it was humorous that one of the soldiers checked the dead boys pulse although you could clearly see he was dead on page 1144. Another instance of dark humor is when they soldiers are waiting for Ted’s body to be picked up after his death.

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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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Jimmy Cross longs to reunite with Martha during the war , and consequently, his mind remains infatuated by her and the fantasies he wishes he could experience with her. When Ted Lavender died, O'Brien says, “He [Jimmy Cross] felt shame. He hated himself. ”(16). This is because Jimmy Cross feels guilty for always thinking about Martha and letting a death of one of his soldier slip through his hands.

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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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