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Wt Jim Cross Character Analysis

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In June of 1958, Tim O 'Brien was drafted into the US Army. The trauma he experienced was unforgettable, s unforgettable that he would go and write a book describing the horrors of war. In the book, Lt. Jimmy Cross represents the guilt that soldiers experience during war and the absolute lack of structure that was consistenty in the back of their minds. In The Things They Carried, Tim O 'Brien, the narrator, portrayed Lt. Jimmy Cross as emotionally unfit to be in a position of power in the military as shown by his feeling guilty for Ted Lavender and constantly being reminded of Martha, both contributing and being cause by him not paying attention to waht 's going on around him in the times of need.

Lt. Cross feels extremely guilty about Pvt. Ted Lavender 's death. Lavender had just finished using the bathroom, when on …show more content…

One of the things that is always at the forefront of Cross 's mind is his unrequited love for Martha. With his love fro Martha come along fantasies, which take his mind off of the war and what 's going on around him. He thinks that because of his love for Martha, it distracted him just long enough for something serious to happen. After Lavender 's death, he tries to recollect his mind by promising himself that he would stop thinking about Martha by burning her letters and pictures that he owns. By doing this he takes the blame for the death of one of his brothers. Even though he attempted to collec himself, his constant pining for Martha is another point for why he is unfit to take a leadership role; he is always distracted.

Besides what he physically carried, he also carried many things emotionally, which made him unstable. he carried the guilt and the responsibility of his comrades ' lives, causing him to be crushed under the pressure of certain situations which made him think about all the things that he cared for the most. Ultimately, his extreme attachment to his subordinates proved to be too much to handle and made him a

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