The novel “The Things They Wore” by Tim O'Brien is set during the Vietnam War. The protagonist, Lieutenant Cross, is a soldier who is madly in love with a student named Martha. He carries photos and letters from her. However, the early chapters illustrate how weak this deep love makes him in war. Lieutenant Cross is a character who, until the death of a soldier, was very cowardly 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 was only interested in Marthe; he dreamed of being with her and he was delighted when he received letters from her. Tim O'Brien recounts: “Slowly, a little distracted, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then, in the dead of night, he would return to his hole 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 was always somewhere else, never in the current situation. This made him an easy target for his enemies, because if this continued, then he would begin to fear death, fear fighting, and fear war. He would become a coward because he would wish for the day when he could be with Martha again after the war. This would greatly weaken him and his army, and they would most likely lose to the enemy. Another weakness resulting from this love is shown when he says: "At that moment, he thought, he should have done something courageous." He should have carried her... middle of paper ... fights and memories with Martha. However, his current refusal to accept and face reality is what causes him to be intimidated by his emotions, making him weaker. This will make him weak physically and mentally; he will no longer be focused on the real world and he will constantly wonder whether Martha really loved him or not. He doesn't realize that he has a bigger problem that he needs to think about, not just in his own little world. The fate of Vietnam was in his hands. So Lt. Cross is weak because he loved Martha, he was always distracted from the real world, and he always wished to return to his normal life, not during the war. This will make him physically and mentally weak, making him an easy target for enemies. This is how love can affect soldiers during battle. So I think soldiers shouldn't like it when they're at war.