Dylan+S.+Marxist

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Things-They-Carried-Character-Analyses-Lt-Jimmy-Cross.id-181,pageNum-66.html http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Things-They-Carried-Critical-Essays-The-Things-They-Carried-and-Loss-of-Innocence.id-181,pageNum-76.html

Dylan Smith Ackerman 3 Honors American Literature April 28, 2008 Summary Response Lt. Jimmy Cross Analysis

Summary: This article is talking about how the main character thus far in the novel, Lt. Jimmy Cross is a weak leader and how he was doomed to be that way from the start. It is saying that he is blinded by his love for Martha and that he was taught to lead physically; not mentally. They are saying that he is a weak leader and is not capable of truly leading his platoon.

Response: I agree with the author of this article. I believe that Lt. Jimmy Cross is able to lead through drills, however, he is not capable of rallying his men and greatly influencing them. He was trained to lead them in a physical sense, but not an emotional sense. I think that he is too blinded by his love and lust for Martha to even remotely focus on trying to lead his men. He has little control over them because, he spends all of his time dreaming of being with Martha. He is not living in the now, and is always spaced out, therefore, a hard person to follow. I believe that for him to become a successful leader, he needs to live in the present and lead his troops with an iron fist.

Discussion Questions:

Why does he continuously use the word "carry"? Are drugs their escape? Is the Cross-Martha relationship anything like the Gatsby-Daisy relationship? why? why not? Do the men believe in what they are fighting for?

Warm Up:

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