Lieutenant Jimmy Cross really, from what I've read thus far, is a truly odd character. He really loves this Martha, but the more we are told about them, the more we realize how pathetic he is. O'Brien uses this ironic situation to describe how desperate the soldiers in the Vietnam War were. The reader thinks that Martha and Jimmy are in love when she is first introduced. However, when more is said about her, the reality is revealed that he loves her and holds onto her pictures in an attempt to feel like he is fighting for something or someone. Jimmy really needs to carry this love of her to continue fighting in the war. Its is ironic how she obviously has no feelings for him, but he will not admit this. He needs not to admit this to help him survive.
Jimmy carries the regrets of when "he should've carried her up the stairs to her room and tied her to the bed and touched that left knee all night long," but didn't (page 4). He uses the illusion that she still loves him to give hope of something better after the war.
It kinda seems that most of the lads of this book are holding on to the hope of a relationship rather than an legit relationship. For example, Dobbins still carries the pantyhose and Norman's loss picture.
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