Character Analysis Jimmy CrossThe character I have chosen for study from is Lt. Jimmy Cross, a seemingly weak leader whose training has made him more concerned with having clean weapons and marching in line rather than teach him how to adapt to his environment and deal with his men’s emotions without showing his own.
Lt. Cross is the leader of Alpha Company, although it seems like he isn’t really part of it. He tries to separate himself from his company to maintain his leadership role, which I believe he had never held. It almost seems like Cross is afraid of being a leader. For example, he second guesses himself and his abilities as a leader after the death of Ted Lavender because he believes his pre-occupation with Martha, the girl back home who he is in love with who seems to not think of him the way he thinks of her. Being a leader of a group of men whose lives are in your hands because you make the decisions, you cannot second guess yourself or show any signs of weakness. Due to this infraction and a few others I am lead to believe he is not capable of being an effective leader of his company.
Towards the end of the story it seems like Cross starts to become a little more mature. By disposing of the letters Martha has wrote for him, Cross is accepting the guilt for Lavenders death. This can be viewed as significant because it is showing a character changing. Martha clouded his mind. She, unintentionally, led him to make bad decisions and second guess himself. When he burns the letters he reveals that he is accepting responsibility and the guilt for the death of his men, all while not revealing his own emotions to his men. He shows maturity by making the sacrifice of loosing Martha’s presence with him to free his mind and except accountability so his fellow soldiers can carry on without being crippled by guilt and grief.
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One may wonder what does it all mean. It may be that the fact that the writing is being censored on the internet also makes our story harder.
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When the letter was sent to Martha, Vash as well as a large number of other members of the MTF (military intelligence) took to social media to express their sympathy for the plight of their comrade. These feelings of support were shared many times, with even some of the more conservative members making positive comments, but still having to admit to having a problem with their fellow soldiers and what that would mean by being a little too “open.”
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Towards the end of the story it seems that Cross is beginning to become a little more mature. By disposing of the letters Martha has written for him, Cross is accepting the guilt for Lavenders death. This can be viewed as significant because it is showing a character changing. Martha clouded his mind. She, unintentionally, led him to make bad decisions and second guess himself. When he burns the letters he reveals that he is accepting responsibility and the guilt for the death of his men, all while not revealing his own emotions to his men. He shows maturity by making the sacrifice of loosing Martha’s presence with him to free his mind and except accountability so his fellow soldiers can carry on without being crippled by guilt and grief.
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As this is yet another example that the idea is that this means Cross is beginning to become more mature and mature as well… we can see why that might be. He has not stopped growing and is now at the end of his third year.
The following article takes a different approach and points out the interesting point of Trewer using the military as a tool that allows for his “selfies” in various ways:
“We saw at least a third of the news that this year’s events might be connected to the recent events in Yemen. An example here is when members of the United States Armed Forces made calls to the Saudi government and asked for the Saudi Government to “stand down.” This was seen as a direct call to the Saudi Arabian government. Those who said the call was directed at their country were labeled as terrorist. Others did not like the call. But those who said the call was directed against their country were labeled as terrorists. Then they were told to stay silent about the call until they were killed or they’d disappear. This means that members of the Saudi security services and their Saudi counterparts are part of the U.S. security service, not of Yemen. In the past, the Saudis have often allowed the U.S. to kill Yemeni residents without charging a price. This has been the rule for a number of years. Now the U.S. is willing to