"Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?" by Tim O'Brien

The setting of this excerpt is an attack during a war in the mid 1900's. The setting is most likely possibly from WWII. This is infered due to hints like, "resting on the black plastic stock of his rifle." This suggests an old war as rifles are not used in modern wars. Another line suggesting that the setting is an attack is, "Their leader knelt down, motioning with his hand, and one by one the othere soldiers squatted in the shadows." This again suggests the previous theory that they are in the middle of an attack. This quote also suggests it is not only an attack but a stealthy ambush perhaps.

The mood in this excerpt is mysterious, suspenseful, and depressing. This is due to the word choice and sentence structure of the piece. O'Brien uses many commas and periods to create pauses in his writing which makes the reader wait for what is coming next. This creates anxiety in the reader and a mysterious and suspenseful mood. The mood is also depressing in the word choice that O'Brien uses to describe the setting. Phrases like, "slowly in the dark, single file, not talking," creates a mood that is mysterious and therefore makes the reader want to continue in the story.