The novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O' Brien is set during the Vietnam War. The protagonist, Lieutenant Cross, is a soldier madly in love with a university student named Martha. He carries photos and letters of her with him. However, the first few chapters illustrate how this deep love makes him weak in war. Lieutenant Cross is a character who, until the death of a soldier, was very dissolute and did not take the war seriously. He had let his soldiers throw away their supplies, take drugs, and sing happy songs in the middle of a serious war. He only cared about Martha; he dreamed of being with her and was happy when he received letters from her. Tim O'Brien says: "Slowly, somewhat distractedly, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then in complete darkness he would return to his den and watch the night wondering if Martha was a virgin." (p. 2) This shows how all he cared about was Martha; he didn't pay attention to his real life and his surroundings. He basically lived in a fantasy world because they lived in two separate worlds. Not being able to wake up from this dream made him potentially weak because his mind always wandered elsewhere, never to the current situation. This made him an easy target for his enemies because if this continued, he would begin to fear death, fear combat, and fear war. He would become a coward because he longed for the day he could find Martha again after the war. This would greatly weaken both him and his army, and they would most likely lose to the enemy. Another weakness resulting from this love is shown when he says, “Just then, he thought, he should have done something brave. He should have taken her with him... middle of paper... fights and memories with Martha. However, his current refusal to accept and face reality is what makes him bullied by his emotions, which makes him weaker. This will make him weak both physically and mentally; he will no longer be focused on the real world and will constantly worry whether Martha really loved him or not. He doesn't realize he has a bigger problem to think about, not just in his own little world. The fate of Vietnam was in his hands. Therefore, Lieutenant Cross is weak because he loved Martha, was always distracted by the real world, and always wanted to return to his normal non-war life. This will make him weak both physically and mentally, making him an easy target for enemies. This is how love can influence soldiers during battle. Therefore, I think that soldiers should not love when they are at war.