How did LT Cross feel about being a soldier?

How did LT Cross feel about being a soldier?

How did Lt. Cross feel about being a soldier? He blames himself for making the wrong decision, concluding that he should have followed his first impulse and removed the men from the field. He feels that his oversight caused Kiowa’s death.

What do we learn about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross?

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the young, inexperienced leader of Alpha Company in Tim O’Brien’s ‘The Things They Carried. ‘ Cross’s youth, inexperience, and poor judgment sometimes have disastrous results for the men, though Jimmy Cross accepts responsibility for his ineptitude.

Who is LT cross in love with?

Martha is a character in The Things They Carried who only appears in the memories of First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. Cross is in love with Martha, and he clings to his love to help him get through the war.

What are the soldiers doing when Lavender is killed?

What were the soldiers doing when Lavender was killed? They were on a mission to tunnel complexes and Lee Strunk had just came back. What is the “good luck charm” that Norman Bowker carries? The thumb that Mitchell Sanders gave him.

Is Tim O’Brien Jimmy Cross?

The Things They Carried is a Vietnam War book by Tim O’Brien, based on his own experiences as a soldier. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is the main character of the title story.

Did Jimmy Cross truly love Martha?

When the details are filled in years after the fact, the truth of the word “Love” is revealed—Martha never loved Cross. In effect, this realization makes only more profound the impact of Lavender’s death on the already guilt-ridden Cross.

Is Lieutenant cross a good leader?

Lt. Cross is a weak leader because the traditional training he received is at stark odds with what he encounters in-country.

Does Jimmy Cross marry Martha?

Cross tells O’Brien that when he finally reconnected with Martha at a college reunion in 1979 , they spent most of their time together, catching up. She had become a Lutheran missionary and had done service in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Mexico. She had never married and told Cross she didn’t know why.

What does Ted Lavender symbolize?

The narrator lists what some of the soldiers carried during their experience in the war, emotional and tangible. Tim O’Brien presents the character of Ted Lavender, an obviously frightened soldier, in order to be a spokeperson to symbolize obvious stress within soldiers during their journey.

How does Jimmy Cross feel about being a lieutenant now?

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross feels determined to excel as a Lieutenant now and protect his men. He decides he… (full context) Many years after the end of the war, Jimmy Cross visits Tim O’Brien at O’Brien’s house in Massachusetts.

Why is Lt cross considered a weak leader?

Similar to battles and operations that constituted the war, Cross fails to demonstrate the clear ability to fulfill his role. Lt. Cross is a weak leader because the traditional training he received is at stark odds with what he encounters in-country.

How does Lt Cross try to persuade himself of his own competence?

For example, Lt. Cross attempts to persuade himself of his own competence by relying on standard operating procedure after Lavender is killed as a means to exonerate himself from feelings of personal culpability in Lavender’s death as well as his pathetic neediness for Martha’s love.

What is Lt cross’s role as leader of Alpha Company?

Lt. Cross’s role as leader of Alpha Company should be that of a strong leader who gives his troops clear instructions for gaining measurable advantage over the enemy. The nature of the Vietnam War, however, makes this kind of leadership impossible because the steps to achieve the objective of the war are undefined and obfuscated.