Jimmy Cross's Fight For Dominance
Fighting For Dominance
Tim O'Brien tells a highly emotional story, “The Things They Carried,” in which he weaves two memories of First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's life together. These two significant parts of Cross seem to be trying to compete to be the more dominant, one being of lovely Martha from back home who has captured Cross's heart and attention; she sent him letters that “were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping” (1) for a sweet declaration of love. Cross's other life is that of the moment, where he is in the middle of the Vietnam War. The narrator describes his as well as seven other men's journey while they venture through this danger and of the things carried by each of the men “largely determined by necessity” (1). The symbolic letters from Martha are prominent throughout the entirety of Tim O'Brien's short story, however the connotation associated with these tokens does not remain consistent.
These very contextual …show more content…
Lieutenant Cross's guilt is palpable in knowing that right before Lavender is killed, Cross had allowed himself to become distracted by his desperate thoughts of his coveted love, Martha, who had sent him photographs and poetic letters that never bring up the war. He is in the middle of this innocent longing when suddenly interrupted by Lavender's death, leaving Cross feeling guiltily responsible and drawing the only conclusion – he ashamedly loves this distant girl far more than he loves and watches out for his men. Upon this painful realization, Cross's guilt seems to break him, driving him to the burning of Martha's letters and two photographs, though he acknowledges the fact that he could not “burn the blame” (9). “He would shut down the daydreams.. He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligance,” (9) Cross's new mindset is strongly
Tim O'Brien tells a highly emotional story, “The Things They Carried,” in which he weaves two memories of First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's life together. These two significant parts of Cross seem to be trying to compete to be the more dominant, one being of lovely Martha from back home who has captured Cross's heart and attention; she sent him letters that “were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping” (1) for a sweet declaration of love. Cross's other life is that of the moment, where he is in the middle of the Vietnam War. The narrator describes his as well as seven other men's journey while they venture through this danger and of the things carried by each of the men “largely determined by necessity” (1). The symbolic letters from Martha are prominent throughout the entirety of Tim O'Brien's short story, however the connotation associated with these tokens does not remain consistent.
These very contextual …show more content…
Lieutenant Cross's guilt is palpable in knowing that right before Lavender is killed, Cross had allowed himself to become distracted by his desperate thoughts of his coveted love, Martha, who had sent him photographs and poetic letters that never bring up the war. He is in the middle of this innocent longing when suddenly interrupted by Lavender's death, leaving Cross feeling guiltily responsible and drawing the only conclusion – he ashamedly loves this distant girl far more than he loves and watches out for his men. Upon this painful realization, Cross's guilt seems to break him, driving him to the burning of Martha's letters and two photographs, though he acknowledges the fact that he could not “burn the blame” (9). “He would shut down the daydreams.. He was now determined to perform his duties firmly and without negligance,” (9) Cross's new mindset is strongly