Jimmy Cross - Lecture notes 1 PDF

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Jimmy Cross: First Lieutenant of the Alpha Company, signed up for the Reserve Officers Training Corps as a sophomore in college, 24 years old resided in New Jersey, dreamy and longs for Martha and her love, carries the responsibility of the lives of his men, Christ-figure who lays down his life for others. (No physical traits found in novel) 3 Adjectives Describing Jimmy Cross Unprepared: Jimmy Cross, although a First Lieutenant, is not prepared to lead the platoon in battle. When faced with an opportunity to save Kiowa, he fails to act and is undeniably guilty for his actions. Jimmy Cross, although a good man, isn’t the heroic soldier he is expected to be.

Nostalgic: Jimmy Cross is nostalgic of Martha in Nam. From the letters she sent to the pictures of Martha, Jimmy longs to be with her like in past instances. Although in war, Jimmy Cross lets his past conform his thoughts and feelings.

Burdened: Jimmy Cross is a Christ like character and like Christ he carries the burden of his fellow men. During Ted Lavender’s death, he took the pain of his fellow men and made it his own to keep the others strong. Jimmy takes the burdens of being First Lieutenant along with the extra struggles he chooses to take.

3 Things Jimmy Cross Carried Letters from Martha: Jimmy Cross carried letters from Martha and they were not love letters. These letters gave Jimmy happiness since he could unwrap the letters from the plastic in the bottom of his rucksack. He would taste the envelope flaps because he knew that Martha’s tongue had been there.

Pictures of Martha: Jimmy Cross carried the burden of love and lust through the 2 pictures he had of his “love”, which he eventually burned. One picture was a Kodacolor snapshot signed “Love” while the other one was of Martha playing volleyball in her shorts. The last picture interested Jimmy the most because he longed to “touch her leg”

Good Luck Charm: Jimmy Cross carried a good luck charm which Martha gave him after she found it on the Jersey shoreline back home. It was a simple oval-shaped pebble with orange and violet sparkles on it. This symbolically was a charm because Martha found it when the water made “things come together but also separate”, an unheard of phenomena.

Jimmy Cross and his Transformation

Jimmy Cross experiences multiple transformations throughout The Things They Carried. As first described, Jimmy is the platoon leader who longed for Martha, his love who is in New Jersey. Jimmy, obsessed with her letters and pictures, looks at both after the “day’s march” in his foxhole. Along with the good luck charm which Martha gave him, Jimmy wanted her love more and more with each coming day. A lust, Jimmy’s longing for Martha is more for his benefit of “touching her leg” again than it is true love. As O’Brien states, “Jimmy loved Martha more than his own men”; this proves Jimmy’s incompetent leadership for he puts his desire before that of others. An obsessive desire over Martha costs Jimmy not only his focus in Nam but adds fuel to the personal daemon inside him, controlling him. Jimmy Cross experiences his first major transformation when Ted Lavender, one of his own men, dies in Nam. As Jimmy Cross though about Martha, the tunnel which Lee Struck and was in collapsed. Although he tried to “gaze at the tunnel”, his thoughts of Martha distracted him from acting. Lee Struck came out alive, but Ted Lavender got shot in the head in a preventable scenario. After Ted was lifted out of Nam, Jimmy felt guilt, but still thought of Martha. Jimmy Cross realizes that his obsession of loving Martha over the wellbeing of his men was the cause of Ted’s death. As Jimmy “blamed himself”, he takes on the guilt of his fellow men; he grieved for some, like Kiowa, didn’t know how to. This guilt prompts Jimmy to burn the letters and photographs of Martha; he tried to burn the blame but was unsuccessful. Jimmy realizes he is to blame for Ted’s death but is still not transformed, as thoughts of Martha overtakes his actions. Jimmy is further transformed by the death of Kiowa in the “village toilet”. Jimmy wishes for the rain to stop as the identities of his soldiers are deluded by the filth. Jimmy Cross had the responsibility of writing a letter to Kiowa’s father, which he didn’t describe Kiowa’s drowning but rather the good soldier he once was. While writing the letter, Jimmy Cross truly experiences guilt for the first time. With no mention of Martha or anyone else, Jimmy feels that it was his responsibility to move the soldiers from the field to higher ground and radio in the mistaken directions. This shows Jimmy not as a leader, but as just a boy with lack of experience. Jimmy realizes through a golf analogy that his responsibilities are greater than he expected or wanted. Jimmy goes into regret, fathoming a life without the struggles which he, as a sophomore at Mount Sebastian College, signed up for. Only 24 years old, Jimmy Cross realizes that he was not prepared and didn’t really have an opinion about the war he took on. He decides to apologize in the letter, claiming Kiowa’s death as his own fault and not covering up anything that took place. This monumental moment proves Jimmy as being a good man but also as a weak First Lieutenant. Jimmy Cross finally realizes his incapability of being a leader and the effects of his actions or inability to act.

Jimmy Cross and Connection To the Poem E.E. Cummings’ “i carry your heart with me” elicits several parallels to Jimmy Cross’ love fixation over Martha in The Things They Carried. The poem intentionally does not capitalize the letter “i” to signify that oneself is not as important as he/she seems to be, for “me” has the same significance. Jimmy Cross feels similar feelings, as he is not complete without Martha. As he obsesses over her body, Jimmy Cross proves that Martha has an equal significance to him and addresses her in a positive manner. As Cummings writes “i carry your heart with me”; this demonstrations true love since it provides a connection between two lovers. Jimmy Cross, the love-struck First Lieutenant, “carries” his love for Martha wherever he goes in Nam. Jimmy also physically carries letters from Martha and 2 pictures of her which he fixates on every late afternoon “in his foxhole”. Because his love for Martha is strong, he doesn’t mind the extra baggage he carries and he converts his heart into hers. This means that Jimmy feels as if Martha were there and acts based on what he things she would consider correct actions. The poem emphasizes “i am never without it [your heart]”, showing that the narrator’s love towards his lover is unhidden. Jimmy Cross is also not afraid of hiding his love, for he allows his emotions to overtake him in both alone time and time of urgency like the tunnel scene. The poem continues “whatever is done by only me is your doing, darling”. This further solidifies Martha’s impact on Jimmy Cross, causing him to daydream in Nam, a place where he is in to fight and not love. His responsibility is the safety of his men and progressing the war. Cummings proves that fear is not present when love is active through, “i fear no fate (for you are my fate…)”. Because of love, neither fate nor fear has control. Similarly, Jimmy does not fear anything for he knows he has Martha. When in the middle of the battlefield, he isn’t overwhelmed by the pressures of war whenever he fixates on Martha. He literally “loves Martha more than his own men”, signifying the overtaking of Jimmy’s sanity and choice making. Jimmy Cross would rather live in a fantasy than face his reality. The poem insists the lack of longing anything in the world because “beautiful you are my world, my true”. Because his love is his world, there is a lack of purpose shown. Jimmy forgets he is a First Lieutenant who has responsibilities and is unaware that the entire platoon is counting on him as a leader to see them through various predicaments. The poem then utilizes astronomic diction such as “moon” and “sun” and “stars”, showing that there are no bounds for love. Similarly, Jimmy Cross carries his good-luck pebble, which was given when the ocean both “brought things together and separated”. As the poem suggests, there are no bounds and nature cannot restrict Jimmy’s love for Martha. “here is the deepest secret nobody knows”, the poem states as it illustrates there is secrecy in love; some things about love are mysterious and ambiguous. Although he is obsessed with her, Jimmy doesn’t even know if Martha truly likes him or if he is just creating a utopian scenario. The poem concludes “i carry your heart”, repeating the first line for emphasis of the “heart”. Unlike the first time, the speaker realizes that it is his responsibility to “carry [the] heart”. Although in love, he now realizes his role in the relationship. Jimmy Cross soon realizes that his love for Martha isn’t in the present; he must refocus his thoughts for the sake of his fellow men and save Martha for the right time. When will the time be right though?

Psychological Debriefing of Jimmy Cross’ Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Jimmy Cross, when returning home from Nam, develops and maintains a case of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder, otherwise known as PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event, one which was traumatic, causing fear and horror within the victim. Like a flashback, this condition causes those who were exposed to trauma to relive their experience. There are 3 major symptoms which PSTD is identified. One symptom is re-experiencing the traumatic event. Flashbacks, Nightmares, and feeling of distress all fall under this category. Because of prior events, a victim will contract intense physical reactions to remind them of what they suffered through. In Jimmy Cross’ case, he relives the horrific scene of Ted Lavender being shot in the head and carried away in the helicopter. Because Jimmy believes his death was preventable, he relives the scene, possibly trying to act differently but knowing in his heart of hearts the foregone fate of his fellow man. Jimmy Cross also experiences similar symptoms about Kiowa’s death. As Kiowa was “wasted in the waste”, Jimmy re-experiences his decision not to move the platoon to higher ground and Kiowa’s “preventable” drowning. He physically suffers from all the stress he underwent and the sudden decision he had to take and stand by. This instance leads to further physiological burden, for Jimmy Cross remembers the letter which he had to write Kiowa’s father. The realization that Kiowa is gone and didn’t survive the war triggers nightmares which the First Lieutenant must live with. Jimmy Cross is forever embedded with thoughts of the war and his wrong decisions. Another symptom of PSTD is avoidance. This refers to any of the following: avoiding certain people, activities or places, feeling detached from others, inability to remember specific aspects of the trauma, or feeling a strong sense of guilt and emotional numbness. Jimmy Cross definitely suffers from Nam, as his future after war is ambiguous. It is obvious that Jimmy stays clear of Martha, for she was the one he obsessed over when the tragic deaths occurred. Jimmy also stays away from the other members of the platoon, for seeing or thinking of any of them would trigger a recap of his role as First Lieutenant and therefore the events that occurred. Because of the guns used in Nam, Jimmy will refrain from ever using a gun or going to a range where a gun is used. Any connection to events or people which occurred will replay the hell which Jimmy Cross already lived through. The final major symptom is hyperarousal symptoms. Tense feelings, sleep disorders, angry outbursts, being easily startled, difficulty concentrating, and hypervigilance are all symptoms. Jimmy experiences these symptoms just based on the fact that he suffers from the other two; these are built in and are effects of the mental baggage Jimmy carries. PTSD is defined by having one or more re-experiencing symptoms, at least three avoidance symptoms, and at least two hyperarousal symptoms for more than one month. PSTD can be controlled, so Jimmy Cross can do “talk” therapy or psychotherapy to keep his symptoms under control. He can also receive help from a doctor to make sense of his bad memories via cognitive reconstruction. He also has the option of taking medications such as Zoloft and Paxil. Both are antidepressants which have common side effects. Jimmy Cross can deal with his PTSD.

Purpose, Symbolic Meaning and Social Message of Jimmy Cross Jimmy Cross’ purpose in The Things They Carried is to show the divide between love and war. Although Jimmy wanted to love, his calling was to fight the war he signed up for. Jimmy Cross is revealed to be a weak First Lieutenant as two of his fellow men died when he was on duty, and each death was preventable. Since Jimmy Cross loved Martha, he let his personal life and daydreams control him when he is needed on the battlefield. Jimmy knows he lacks the leadership skills of a First Lieutenant and eventually realized this after Kiowa’s death. Jimmy’s purpose is to also show the uncertainty of war. None of the events he experienced were planned, but Jimmy showed his lack of action when action was needed most. Through Jimmy, Nam is shown to be a mental block which overtakes one’s ability to clearly think. For him, Martha was the block which he failed to overcome until it was too late. Jimmy Cross symbolically resembles Christ. His initials JC are parallel to Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, Jimmy took the burdens of man and placed them upon himself, suffering for the sake of mankind. Jimmy’s last name, Cross, connects to the cross which Jesus bled for humanity. Jimmy Cross acted as the savior of his fellow troops and bore each man’s guilt when he didn’t deserve to. For example, Jimmy carries Kiowa’s burdens when Ted Lavender died; he takes the sadness from Kiowa so Kiowa can carry on without the extra baggage. Jimmy burns the letters of Martha, making a personal sacrifice to help his platoon. Jimmy resembles Christ through his actions and symbolically represents himself as a savior. The social message revolving Jimmy Cross is for those to think before they act. Although no one could have expected what occurred at Nam, Jimmy Cross had the opportunity to continue college and not accept his role as First Lieutenant. Knowing he wasn’t qualified, Jimmy could have thought of what could happen before blatantly accepting the position and therefore the responsibility of all his fellow men. Although he didn’t back down from his role and tried carrying all the burdens of his platoon, Cross’ inexperience was revealed when life-death decisions were needed to be made and weren’t. Jimmy Cross has some responsibility for the lack of preparedness of these situations, but he was placed in an unfamiliar situation where he wasn’t to act in an effective manner. America didn’t think before acting; sending unexperienced soldiers to a foreign land was a recipe for disaster. Had the US sent prepared warriors to fight, accidents like the ones which occurred could have been prevented. Jimmy Cross epitomizes a common man placed in unfamiliar territory and having to lead a group of men he never knew in a united goal against the forces of communism.

Jimmy Cross

By Brandon O’Malley...