Jimmy Cross
Kylee Russell
English 111
December 8, 2013
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross In the continuous mix of gruesome and heart wrenching but yet still enticing short stories and war memories The Things they Carried byTim O'Brian leads us to fall in love and form a bond with one of the main characters in the book Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Tim O'Brian faces Jimmy Cross with the constant struggle of surviving while fighting in Vietnam. While trying to maintain his sanity, Jimmy"s inner struggle is between his old self and the person he so called has to become. Like all lieutenants Jimmy"s main responsiblety is to lead his troops with preciseness and confidence. Tim O'Brian uses Jimmy Cross as an embodiment of a true and just leader who although at first didn't take sight in his responsibilities but came to grips of his role in the war.
In the introduction of this character, Jimmy Cross had setup a front to completely separate himself from the rest of his troop. Jimmy was constantly in his own little world, mainly back in New Jersey with his life long love Martha, but sometimes also in a imaginary world where nothing felt real and where he would wave the madness of Vietnam away. Jimmy's misunderstanding of what he wishes is happening and what actually is happening is the first thing he changes about his character in order to allow himself to become a better leader. Making this difficult decision was extremely hard for him, the fantasies he had came up with and was used to dreaming everyday were put to rest and his love for Martha was no longer in his thoughts.
By burning those thoughts in his mind Jimmy not only breaks away from his imaginary world, but also from his love for Martha. Martha was a girl back home in New Jersey who Jimmy Cross had loved more than anything, and who remained in contact with Jimmy throughout the war. " He loved her so much. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war. On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out
English 111
December 8, 2013
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross In the continuous mix of gruesome and heart wrenching but yet still enticing short stories and war memories The Things they Carried byTim O'Brian leads us to fall in love and form a bond with one of the main characters in the book Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Tim O'Brian faces Jimmy Cross with the constant struggle of surviving while fighting in Vietnam. While trying to maintain his sanity, Jimmy"s inner struggle is between his old self and the person he so called has to become. Like all lieutenants Jimmy"s main responsiblety is to lead his troops with preciseness and confidence. Tim O'Brian uses Jimmy Cross as an embodiment of a true and just leader who although at first didn't take sight in his responsibilities but came to grips of his role in the war.
In the introduction of this character, Jimmy Cross had setup a front to completely separate himself from the rest of his troop. Jimmy was constantly in his own little world, mainly back in New Jersey with his life long love Martha, but sometimes also in a imaginary world where nothing felt real and where he would wave the madness of Vietnam away. Jimmy's misunderstanding of what he wishes is happening and what actually is happening is the first thing he changes about his character in order to allow himself to become a better leader. Making this difficult decision was extremely hard for him, the fantasies he had came up with and was used to dreaming everyday were put to rest and his love for Martha was no longer in his thoughts.
By burning those thoughts in his mind Jimmy not only breaks away from his imaginary world, but also from his love for Martha. Martha was a girl back home in New Jersey who Jimmy Cross had loved more than anything, and who remained in contact with Jimmy throughout the war. " He loved her so much. He had difficulty keeping his attention on the war. On occasion he would yell at his men to spread out