Jimmy Cross In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

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He 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. (The things they carried pg. 42) For my reading project I chose the character Jimmy Cross. Jimmy Cross carried many things the responsibilities for the lives of his men, compasses, maps, code books, binoculars,a strobe light, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded. But most importantly, he carried his love for Martha a junior in college, although he feels guilty that he loves Martha, who is not his girlfriend or wife more than his men. The things that Jimmy Cross carried represents that he was so blind by love he had no idea what was going on around him during the war he was a hopeless romantic for a girl that does not feel the same for him he'd much rather be with Martha than be in Vietnam fighting a war that he certainly does not belong in. A defining moment for Jimmy Cross was when Ted Lavender gets shot in the head after Ted had …show more content…
Martha seemed uncomfortable after being told that but she was relieved that he did because she doesn't understand how men could do those things - the things that men do. Cross is a hero to me because he came to his senses and didn't do what he wanted to to Martha. In my opinion he's a very brave man for not taking control. And by judging his decisions he did do the right thing by not picking her up, taking her to his room, and tying her to the
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