Many people tend to overlook the great obstacles and combats that our soldiers put themselves into in order to keep us safe,but have they looked deeper into the minds of each soldier and the story they carry. In the book The Things They Carried Tim O`Brien helps convey the true characteristics of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross throughout not only the Vietnam War but through the mental battle he suffers everyday dealing with the sorrows he carries.
Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, was the leader of the Alpha Team during the Vietnam War, and contributed to not only being the man to look upon, but the man the team must have counted on to bring hope towards each and every one of their sorrows. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, an Alpha Company Leader, carries navigational tools illustrative of the …show more content…
It is not a surprise to feel any sort of putty towards the people that are in control of keeping safety among citizens but knowing how Jimmy may have taken the love concept to the wrong setting has taken its toll on his purpose at war. Jimmy has not only taken the guilt of having his loved one at home but also the mental illness of watching his fellow soldier Lavender die. The extravagant breakdown going through his mind at the time might have been twirling around his head trying to comprehend everything that has been going on then for him to finally realize his Soldier is dead. Throughout the story Lieutenant Jimmy Cross has also been shot. O’Brien describes Jimmy as a “fool” in the story to the way he expressed his traumatic experience of being shot at in combat. Jimmy loses his mental personality; his mind had been thrown out to no mans’ land and he had been left alone wondering what had happened to him. Lieutenant Cross could not bring upon his mentality and emotions into the picture but could only chose from either of those to be present at the