Jimmy Cross Symbolism In The Things They Carried

Martha also weighs upon Lt. Cross' actions (or lack thereof). Early in the story, the reader can see how Martha is a distraction during troop movements. Tasting the letter from Martha does not directly distract Lt. Cross from his duties, but it does lead the reader to believe that she is too often the focus of his

By choosing to daydream about Martha, Cross not only puts himself in danger, but his men as well. O’Brien writes, “He pictured Martha’s smooth young face, thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (337-8). Because Cross is thinking of Martha he didn’t realize that there was someone watching his squad, which causes the death of one of the members, Ted Lavender. With this readers can determine that Cross is not taking the danger of the war seriously, and is too caught up with his feelings for Martha, even though he knows that she doesn’t feel the same way. This the start of Cross’s change in character, “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” (345). Cross realizes that the death of Lavender is on his hands because he wasn’t serious enough, and would have to carry this death for the rest of war, and possibly his

In the chapter “The Things They Carried” by Tim O'Brien. Leaders are known for their bravery, loyalty and commitment to their profession. Lieutenant jimmy cross on the other hand was fighting in the war physically but not mentally.Lieutenant jimmy cross was distracted, worried and these emotions would affect him and his team. There are circumstances where he encountered dangerous situations that could have killed him immediately, for these reasons i don’t believe he’s a suitable leader.

Jimmy cross physically carried the basic needs of survival, like his compass, maps, gun, and extra ammo. He also carried personal and emotionally items such as his unrequited love, Martha, pictures and her letters; emotionally he carried the responsibility for the lives of his men. This shows how jimmy cared about his love and the weight he has to carry for his men. This also shows us his personal life and feelings, Martha’s innocent letter and pictures gave Jimmy a sense of fantasy in his all too real reality.

Jimmy's transformation begins when he decides to burn the pictures and letters of his girlfriend, Martha. To be a leader in war was meaningless to Jimmy Cross compared to the love he had for Martha. Cross' subsequent burning of Martha's letters suggests that he's determined to put such romantic ideas behind him. He repeatedly convinces himself that there will be no more fantasies about Martha. The burning of Martha’s things is symbolically used by O’Brien to signify a turning point in Cross’ development. Cross realizes that Martha's feelings for him were not those of love, for she is an English major, a girl who lives in the world of words. Cross was rationalizing his un-requiting love for Martha to create a “home world” inside his mind so that he could mentally escape from the war when he needed to.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was a character with many layers that he never actually showed. He had emotions that he kept inside him, and he was never truly focused on the war. He rarely talked to the other soldiers about how he felt about the war. Cross was burdened with responsibility and guilt. He blamed himself for the death of his soldiers, and he blamed himself for Martha not loving him the way he loved her. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a important character that is seriously affected by the war, and has conflicted

A common theme in the book is Jimmy Cross’ infatuation with Martha, who was his crush back home and carries pictures of to keep him motivated. In the end, Cross blames the death of one of his soldier’s, Ted Lavender, on himself because he was distracted by a thought of Martha while Lavender was shot in the head. Cross’ infatuation of Martha began in college when the two dated she still wrote him while he was away at war, fulfilling the typical role of the woman in that era, waiting for the man to come home and sending love and support while he was gone. Cross falls in love with Martha but realizes she does not feel the same way. He still continues to think of her and imagine a life in where he and she are together.

Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing

In the first chapter in the book, titled The Things They Carried, Jimmy Cross is one of the many examples throughout the novel in where a soldier has a way to escape from the realities of war. Cross, who is a lieutenant in his company, carries two photographs of a girl named Martha whom he truly loves and wishes nothing else but to be with her in the end. Along with the photographs, he carries letters from Martha herself as well as her good-luck pebble in his mouth. Martha’s letters has a huge impact on Cross’s escape on reality because those letters do not mention war at all but for him to stay safe. All of these items comforts Cross and eventually reminisce about the times when he was back home with Martha away from any war. He relives a moment when he was with Martha at the movies, and then remembers that he touched her knee but Martha did not approve and pushed his hands away. Now while he’s in Vietnam, he does nothing but fantasizes taking her to her bed, tying her up, and touching that one knee knee all night long.

The symbols in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” are essential to understanding the soldiers and their lives during the Vietnam War. At the opening of the story, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would dig into his foxhole and read the letters while imagining romance with Martha; however, at the end of the story after the death of Ted Lavender, he “crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters” (402). The inner feelings of Cross would be mistakenly ignored without the help of symbols throughout his travel through Vietnam. O’Brien uses the emotional and physical weight carried by the soldiers as a representation of their personalities and how they prefer to cope with the war. The

Jimmy Cross, they met at a college in New Jersey but nothing sparked between them besides a friendship. There isn't any hope of them ever being together but Jimmy Cross still thinks about her constantly everyday. In one particular letter she sends him a good-luck-pebble. "Martha wrote that she had found the pebble on the Jersey shoreline and carried it in her breast pocket for several days" (8). Jimmy Cross reads the letter spends hours wondering who she was at the beach with, if she was with a man, if they were a couple. When the women sent letters home, it really helped keep the morale of the soldier's. Although Martha continues to kind of mislead Jimmy when she signs the letters "love." "Ted Lavender was shot in the head on his way back from peeing. He lay with his mouth open" (12).

Cross comes to the decision to not make his mistake again of losing another man because of his thoughts of Martha. He watches in dishonor the horror of Ted Lavender being wrapped in his poncho and his body being lifted onto the helicopter while the other men smoke Ted’s dope. He further explains that not only the weapons but the things that him and his men carry are there only means of staying alive. Mostly they carry the basic necessities but when it’s dangerous missions they carry more to make them feel protected. It is evident that he expresses responsibility of not being there more for his men and hopes to change his leadership abilities. Lt. Cross says in disgrace, that he should have been worried about the security of his men but rather was lost in his love for Martha explaining, “It wouldn’t help Lavender, he knew that, but from this point on he would comport himself as an officer.” Lt. Cross’s remorse comes to light when he listens to Kiowa explain repeatedly how Lavender just dropped dead, no squirming, just dropped. This makes Lt. Cross’s fear it could have been him who died, which compels him to remove his emotions and concentrate on being an officer to his

Love is a powerful force, and Lieutenant Cross sometimes gets lost in his musings while thinking of Martha. O’Brien writes: “His mind wandered. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war. 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.” Like any sane person in his situation, Lieutenant Cross wants to escape – to anywhere else but the war. The war brings terrible experiences – fear, death, hunger, and pain beyond imagination. The only way that Lieutenant Cross can endure these things is by escaping to an imaginary life with Martha. Although to her, he is little more than a friend, to Lieutenant Cross, Martha represents innocence, perfection, and a world free from war.

Jimmy Cross being the immature lieutenant is affected being responsible of his men, and carries much of the war’s burden. Every time one of Cross’s men dies, he experiences deep regrettable feelings that he should have been a better

During the war, women are used to reflect society’s abandonment of the soldiers through their insensitivity that ultimately leaves the soldiers to fight alone. For Lieutenant Cross, Martha writes long letters back and forth with him, but rarely do they ever speak of Cross’s life in battle. Merely, the only time war is mentioned is to say, “Jimmy, take care of yourself” (2). Considering the pages and pages of writing that Martha writes regarding her life, she does not put in the effort to ask about Cross, who risks his life every day. Simply, she tells Cross to