Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?

The setting and the mood of this excerpt convey a sympathetic feeling towards PFC Paul Berlin. The setting of this is during a war in a rice paddy. It is night and it is dark and no one is speaking. Paul Berlin is feeling scared of this first day at war. He wants to be with his father again, so the reader knows that he is scared. The reader can sympathize with him because he is in the dark, not allowed to talk, not safe yet. The mood is dark yet hopeful. As Paul is wanting to be with his father, he knows that when he reaches safety it will be better and he will learn. We sympathize with him that he is not to safety yet and that he can only hope that his conditions will improve.