Jimmy Valentine Analysis

If Jimmy were to open the vault Annabel would figure out his past and not want to be with him. But Jimmy being the considerate man he really is, he busts out his tools and opens up the vault saving Agatha. “With that act, Ralph D. Spence passed away and Jimmy Valentine took his place.’’ This piece of text evidence shows how different Jimmy the man who committed crimes, is from Ralph a nice, considerate, and non-selfish man who has found the love of his life. In “Thank You Ma’am” the main conflict is Roger has nobody to care for him, causing him to not make the best decision of trying to steal from an innocent lady on the street.

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

In life, everyone has obligations. People have responsibilities they have to tend to everyday, but sometimes there are passions of love or revenge that makes one stop thinking of what their true responsibilities are. For soldiers fighting in war, their responsibility is to take care of their men and make sure no one gets hurt. They fight for their country and protect the men who have become their family. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross went against his honor to protect his men. He let his responsibly go, which caused one of the men in his group to die. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross confronts the demands of the love for Martha, which conflicts with his responsibility in the war, which affects him and the story.

Jimmy was the platoon leader, which meant he was responsible for his men. Often Jimmy was distracted by his fantasy love life, this resulted in sloppy behavior – they didn’t check for mines, enemy traps, etc. While Jimmy was busy thinking about his fantasies Ted went out of their “camp” to use the restroom. As he was walking back he was shot in the back of the head causing an instant death. Although this was not directly Jimmy’s fault, he blames himself for it and will forever carry an emotional burden.

On the day Ted Lavender was killed, Jimmy was in his fantasies of those for Martha. Hence, Jimmy feels that Ted died because of his negligence of security. He blamed his love for Martha for Lavender’s death. “thinking he loved her more than anything, more than his men, and now Ted is dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her” (O’Brien, 332). He was the in-charge of all the men with him. Jimmy will carry the guilt of Lavender’s death with himself along with all the things he was carrying throughout the war. “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” (O’Brien, 338). In wars people get killed from both the sides and no one is responsible for the death of others, and so is it with Jimmy. Even if he wasn’t thinking about Martha he couldn’t had done much to save Ted’s life. Ted had gone for the bathroom when he got shot by the enemy. These soldiers were young, they had no idea of strategies of wars, nor what they were exactly looking for during their march in different villages.

Jimmy went through a lot of pain his experience would soon be the cause of a life filled with trust issues. "I felt lost and confused around grown-ups. They never told the truth. They were always hiding something that would eventually hurt me." pg (19). This shows how people are not satisfied until they sabatoge someone else 's happiness. Be careful who you trust, not everyone can be trusted. Witnessing his father in jail and addicted to alcohol, his mother leaving,

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries courage. Unseemingly so, giving up someone he loves makes him the most courageous character in The Things They Carried. Martha, the woman whom he loves, is the most important thing back home, to him. “He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire. He would sometimes taste the envelope flaps, knowing he tongue had been there.” (1). This quote explains just how much Jimmy Cross loves Martha and he dreams about her everyday, Cross cares so much about Martha, the girl he fell in love with back at home. After fellow soldier Ted Lavender dies while Cross is daydreaming about Martha, he makes the honorary decision to

Ted Lavender, which was one of the men in Jimmy’s platoon was shot in the head on his way back from using the restroom. This incident leads jimmy to have numerous feelings of regret and remorse. He thought about what happened time and time again, thinking about what he could’ve done that day Ted Lavender was killed. His mind wandered (O’Brein, “Carried” 275). Jimmy often had trouble keeping his attention on the war (O’Brein, “Carried” 275). Martha, was on his mind constantly day in a day out. He sometimes thought of 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 (O’Brien, “Carried” 274). Shame is what Jimmy had started to take upon himself. Loving Martha more than his men was the main reason his acceptance of the blame because he believed it was initially his own mistake. Consequently, when a man dies there is usually blame on some part whether it be nature or some other factor in life. Jimmy cross understood this notion. He could blame the war. He could blame Kiowa for going to it. He could blame the enemy. He could blame god. He could blame an old women in Omaha who forgot to vote. Jimmy Cross could’ve put the blame on any one of those factors; instead he put the blame on himself because he began to realize he needed to go forward in life, and change how he lead his

Aside from abandoning the letters and pictures, Jimmy Cross also abandons his innocence. He wants to concentrate on the responsibilities of leading his men, for "he was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligence." The new lieutenant Cross would dispose of the good luck pebble, issue "new SOP's, and would confiscate the remainder of Lavender's dope. Overall, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross would accept the blame for what had happened to Ted

But the moment she escapes and is driving across the arroyo, she knows her life will be better remaining loyal to her children. On the other hand, Jimmy Cross wasn’t indecisive about letting Martha go. The moment Ted Lavender was killed, he knew he had to do something about it. Jimmy burned the letters he admired so much, and turned to despise Martha, "He hated her. Yes, he did.

Jimmy is both betrayed and a betrayer, but is ultimately not able to forgive himself or Abbad, so he cannot move on and consequently turns to

“More than anything, he wanted Martha to love him as he loved her (O’Brien 1).” Martha was a symbol of the psychological things that were carried that led some of the men to death. She was so important to Cross that he often forgot his duties of a Lieutenant which caused the blame he placed on himself for the deaths of his men. Storytelling was an important motif throughout the novel, it was a way to connect with the past and give Jimmy remembrance of his date with Martha while he was fighting a war. Like O'Brien's story about Linda, Jimmy is able to tell stories about Martha which both brought back elements from the past through memories.

He needed to unite his troops into one, and let them all know they are all in this war together, like it or not. Jimmy came to the realization that in a time of war you should have no friends. If you take the time to know the person then you are only getting yourself emotionally attached to that person, and when it comes time to act with your mind not your emotions you will hesitate therefore putting all of your men’s lives at risk. Jimmy could not have that in his squadron. He needed to overcome another great hurdle in his strive for complete leadership. Individuality against Conformity. Everyone in the story had there own things they carried, some carried lucky pebbles like Jimmy and others carried the New Testament like Kiowa.  Jimmy needed to find a way to unite everyone. They all needed to be soldiers. Jimmy decided to lead by example, when he tossed the lucky pebble away and burned his pictures, he intended for everyone to

12. Jimmy Cross still hasn’t forgiven himself as he still loves Martha, who he believed was the primary cause of Lavender’s death. When Lavender died, Cross vowed to never let his emotions get the best of him again and he promised to let go of his infatuation for Martha. He essentially doesn’t forgive himself as he realizes he never learned from his lessons. Cross still continues to let his emotions get the better

"Then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder is Martha was a virgin." He recognizes the ideas that she may not be a virgin, and even acknowledges that there are other men in her life. Jimmy knows that Martha has many boyfriends, and when he receives a picture from her in the mail, wonders who the photographer was. He treasures the picture and takes it everywhere with him, and yet the small shadow in the picture of the man taking it seems to be his focal point. He wants to focus purely on his unrequited love for Martha, but he can't. He seems to force himself to understand that she does not actually love him. She will never be his, and he knows that somewhere inside him, but continues to imagine that the love that she signs at the end of her letters is really a romantic love.