Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a very interesting character. He is a very deep emotional person who attaches to his "true love," a girl from college. The way Cross acts and thinks may not make you think of a war leader. He does not have the characteristics needed to lead a team of men into battle during a war. He comes off to me as a very troubled and maybe a little unstable person. I see him as someone with not having many real, loving relationships with family and friends. O'Brien brings Jimmy to us as this emotional wreck who doesn't seem cut out for war, and he makes you wonder what has happened in years before, and how his life will be after this war is over, and he is back home. Jimmy shows early signs that he can be a brave leader to his men even though he has this phantom relationship looming over his head. O'Brien says,"The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, replaying itself over and over. But the war wasn't all that way" (31). Jimmy is that perfect symbol of balance. He shows his weaknesses, but he also shows how he overcomes those weaknesses when it is time to survive this terrible war.
I am a fan of Lieutenant Jimmy Cross. He shows the real struggles people go through in war. His experiences show us the good and the bad. He is really a typical war hero. He has all these thought constantly running through his head, the guilt of friendly deaths or enemy kills, the love of his life, Martha, waiting for him back at home, and the weight of his entire team on his back.
-Brice Lucas
I think that Jimmy Cross is a true fighter and believer. No matter what he always shows that he will never give up. He has went through some tough moments and overall I think that made him a stronger and more powerful person as a whole and without those experiences with him her probably wouldn't be the person he is. -Danny Schultz
ReplyDeleteWhile he may not have the ideal characteristics of a military hero, I think him showing all those emotions makes me feel like he is actually human. It is normal to be scared and sad, and some people in the war will not show those emotions to their troop members. He has so much pressure on him to keep his people alive, and when that doesn't go as planned, he cracks under the sadness. This is okay, and him showing this makes his troop members feel safer I would think. Jimmy Cross has has very tough experiences, and like Danny said, that only made him stronger. -Caroline
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