Chapter 2: Love

What could Jimmy Cross never forgive himself for?

• Jimmy Cross never forgave himself for the death of Ted Lavender. Years after the war, Jimmy Cross went to visit Tim O’Brien and after seeing a snapshot of Ted, Jimmy said that “[Lavender’s death] was something that would never go away” (O’Brien 26).

How did Jimmy get a new picture of Martha playing volleyball?

• Years after burning the first photograph in response to his guilt, Jimmy was given a new photograph by Martha herself. They ran into each other at a college reunion and spent most of the time together. After a disagreement the previous night, Martha apologized to Jimmy and handed him the photograph, telling him “not to burn this one up” (O’Brien 28).

What does Jimmy ask Tim to do when he writes his story?

• Jimmy asked Tim to make him a “good guy… Brave and handsome… [The] best platoon leader ever,” in his story (O’Brien 29). Jimmy asked for this hoping that Martha would “read it and come begging” (O’Brien 28).

What does he tell Tim NOT to mention?

• Jimmy asked Tim for a favor. He asked Tim to not “mention anything about,” something that is  not specifically stated in the book, but could be implied to be related to Ted Lavender’s death (O’Brien 29). 

What does it tell us about Tim O’Brien, the narrator, that he reveals character traits of Cross’s that Cross would prefer to have remain unknown?

• Tim had commented to Jimmy that he wanted to “write a story about [some of the things Jimmy had told him]” (O’Brien 28). Jimmy gave full permission with the request that Tim not include anything about Ted Lavender’s death. Even though, Tim had promised not to, that’s exactly what he did in the first chapter when he mentioned that Ted “carried 34 rounds when he was shot and killed outside Than Khe” (O’Brien 6). This implies that, as a writer, Tim was more focused on telling the story than protecting Jimmy’s emotions and respecting his decision. 

Reflection:

This chapter is one of the shortest chapters in the book. However, it was quite informative on the character traits and personalities of both Jimmy Cross and Martha. The character of Jimmy Cross is emotional and determined. Different statements or actions by a person can quickly trigger an emotional response by Jimmy. An example of this can be seen when Tim showed Jimmy a snapshot of Ted Lavender, who had been killed in action under Jimmy’s care. The snapshot most likely triggered Jimmy’s guilt, as well as memories from the war, which had been buried in his mind for a long time. Jimmy had the opposite response when Tim brought up Martha. Jimmy reacted with sadness and regret when Ted was brought up, but immediately changed his mood to happy and nostalgic after Martha was brought up. This shows that Jimmy was open about his emotions. The reader also learns that Jimmy is persistent when it comes to earning Martha’s love, yet Martha is guarded and doesn’t let Jimmy get too close because she isn’t comfortable with the “things men do” (O’Brien 28).