ipl-logo

The Things They Carried Swot Cross Character Analysis

742 Words3 Pages

Tim O’Brien’s novel, “The Things They Carried,” is a short story that talks about a group of soldier’s experiences during the Vietnam War. O’Brien tells the reader about the different objects the soldiers each carried in order to show emotional appeal of the object. Throughout the whole story, the protagonist, Lieutenant Cross, is a soldier who fails to keep his mind focus away from his real life back at home. The author tells us that all he ever focused on was his college sweet heart named Martha. Cross usually separated himself from his men to fantasize about his beloved Martha. The main conflict of this essay is that Lieutenant Cross is unable to control his obsessive behavior over Martha, and therefore, leads to him being an awful leader. One way you can identify that Lieutenant Cross is an awful leader is because he never took war seriously and let his men do whatever they wanted. Since Lt. Cross was always distracted, his men seemed to be fooling around most of the time. At night, it was all fun and games for this group of soldiers. The soldiers became very careless; therefore, they began doing drugs and even started letting go of their equipment. Lt. Cross on the other hand would sit by himself reading over the letters that Martha would send him. The author mentions, “Slowly, and a bit distracted, he would get up and move among his men, …show more content…

Cross is an awful leader because he is to in love with Martha, which makes him unable to do his duties properly. The emotional burden he feels after the death of his good friend Lavender makes him drop of out of the military and return home. The theme of the story revolves around shame and guilt. Towards the end of the essay, Lt. Cross burns all of Martha’s letters in order to make it seem like he will forgot about Martha. Unfortunately, it is to late to correct the decisions he should have made a long time ago. His obsessive nature over Martha leads to the overall them of the story, guilt and

Show More
Related

  • Things They Carried By Sherman Alexie And Tim O Brien

    800 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the things they carried by Tim O’brien, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was deeply in love with Martha. But one day when a soldier was killed under his watch, he blamed Martha for his death, and wanted to forget all about her. This was the day after Ted's death, “Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters” (O’Brien 22). The letters of Martha was the only thing that he had to remind him of her. Burning the letters symbolized destroying Martha from his life.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Cross In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

    1530 Words  | 7 Pages

    Along with his usual gear, though, he carries with him the burden of not being able to be with his girlfriend and , “walking barefoot along the Jersey Shore, with Martha, carrying nothing,” (O’Brien 1480). Therefore in order to forget this burden Cross carries a pebble in his mouth because it is one Martha picked up, and he also stares at pictures of her in his foxhole every night. This is what keeps Cross, in a sense, sane during the war because he can escape the horrors around him and at the same time witness something beautiful and peaceful in a place that would be considered ugly and horrendous. Cross’s escape from the war can be contrasted to the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” in the sense that the speaker in this poem cannot escape the war he is in, but rather he has to face it every day without a break in the war since the troops have to march on until the soldier’s, “distant rest began to trudge,” (N).

    Read More

  • How Does Jim Cross Show Courage

    239 Words  | 1 Pages

    I think of Lt. Jimmy Cross as a young man who wasn’t prepared to leave his loved ones to fight in a war. He left his normal life filled with regrets of not doing “something brave” (5). His young adult life was taken from him by the war. He had to experience things that no normal twenty four year old man would have to. He wanted to be in love with a girl and have her love him back.

    Read More

  • Rifles For Watie Character Analysis

    493 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rifles for Watie written by Harold Keith is a novel that is prominently expressing unity after times of tragedy and war in a touching way that shows understanding. The topic and message of the novel is to show how war is a tragedy but you can always be understanding of the opposing side, as well as become united again. The authors topic can be shown through what is written in the novel and by the experiences of the main character Jeff. What else?? One way the content of the novel Rifles for Watie proves the message is how it displays the idea of tolerance for the enemy by experience.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    1837 Words  | 8 Pages

    The first mention of love is in “The Things They Carried,” when Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ strong infatuation with Martha is revealed. His attitude seems innocent enough as he “want[s] Martha to love him as he loved her” (1). The reciprocity of this pure emotion, illustrated by the repetition of “love,” is quickly shot down as the officer is portrayed as obsessed with Martha’s rejection of him rather than simply in love. One of the most striking moments that interweaves the violent nature of war with his memories of the girl is presented in his desire to “carr[y] her up the stairs to her room and t[ie] her to the bed and [touch] that left knee all night long” (4). The run-on structure of the sentence conveys the unhealthy excitement of a man who plays this moment over and over again in his mind.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried Analysis

    998 Words  | 4 Pages

    O’Brien only reveals Cross’ feelings and thoughts rather than everybody else’s, so the focus on Martha is magnified. Readers are presented in his mind, and his actions show his obsession with her gets in the way of his duties as a Lieutenant. While readers are taken in his mind in The Things They Carried, they assume soldiers’ feelings through dialogue in The Open Boat. In a conversation, the oiler responds to his captain’s question by saying “A little more south, sir” (Crane 2). The dialogue

    Read More

  • Flat Characters In Ernest Hemingway's The Things They Carried

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    The climax for Cross' character comes as the soldiers are camped in a Vietnamese waste field and his turning on of a flashlight triggers an ambush, killing Kiowa. Cross begins questioning himself if he could have prevented Kiowa's death and if he is truly fit to lead Alpha company. This causes him to reevaluate his actions as a leader and person, hardening his character to where he burns the picture of Martha and begins leading his men in a no nonsense fashion. Queenie is a static character because throughout the short story she remains the same.

    Read More

  • Reflective Essay: The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

    747 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cross and his obsession with Martha. Eventually, after a death in the group, LT. Cross was distracted and he decides to burn the letters Martha sent him. “On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First LT. Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha’s letters…

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried: An Analysis

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    “That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future ... Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (36). The Things They Carried is a captivating novel that gives an inside look at the life of a soldier in the Vietnam War through the personal stories of the author, Tim O’Brien . Having been in the middle of war, O’Brien has personal experiences to back up his opinion about the war.

    Read More

  • Jimmy Cross Martha Quotes

    601 Words  | 3 Pages

    When she came aware of the obsession Jimmy Cross had for her eventually it turned her off . In The things they Carried Martha and Jimmy Cross situation is a symbol of love that Jimmy cross have

    Read More

  • Lieutenant Jimmy Cross's Leadership During The Vietnam War

    776 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lieutenant Cross decided he must remove all distractions of Martha and home and begin to focus on his responsibilities. These unexpected losses helped Lieutenant Cross recognize his responsibility and aided him to become a leader who did not let his personal life obstruct with his duties as an officer. He burned Martha’s letters and photographs and threw away her good luck charm (O'Brien). No more fantasies, he told himself. Henceforth, when he thought about Martha, it would be only to think she belonged elsewhere (O'Brien).

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien

    648 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jimmy Cross is the first lieutenant who carries pictures and letters from Martha, the woman he loves who—sadly—does not love him back. The pictures and letters from Martha symbolize Jimmy’s longing to be loved and comforted. It is ironic that although he is the first lieutenant who is expected to take charge and lead others, yet he never took charge of his own love life. This is a regret and burden Cross carries to the end of the story. “It was very sad, he thought.

    Read More

  • All Is Not Fair In Love And War Analysis

    1009 Words  | 5 Pages

    Cross blames himself, knowing “He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead…” (p. 121). First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is distracted by his infatuation for Martha, which ultimately results in Ted Lavender’s death, forcing Cross to realize his fantasies for Martha are wrong and that he is not fulfilling his duties as a lieutenant. Lieutenant Cross is inattentive to the war and his responsibilities because he is unable and unwilling to stop thinking about his adoration for Martha.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried A War Story Analysis

    637 Words  | 3 Pages

    The things they carried is a novel by Tim O’Brien. About the Vietnam war. About the lives of people going there. It’s a collection of war stories. Some of them true, some of the untrue and that’s the main topic that’ll be discussed in this paper.

    Read More

  • A Good Man Is Hard To Find Critical Essay

    1054 Words  | 5 Pages

    Two key words carried through the essay is a good man. Although the characters have severe personalities it contradicts the ideals of justice that they bring up so much. In general, the story is a conflict of interests. Each person has their own need to say something and in return pushing down another character. They play off this term by looking at the negatives instead of the positives.

    Read More

More about The Things They Carried Swot Cross Character Analysis

Open Document