Point of View

The story is told in the third person from Paul Berlin's point of view. Paul Berlin's narrative jumps from his current situation to an imaginary observation post where he is on guard duty, to another imaginary trip from Vietnam to Paris, chasing a deserter named Cacciato.

The author rarely deviates from Paul Berlin's view of the story, but in one situation, the author takes the reader into the mind of Lt. Sidney Martin, who is the frst leader of the platoon. Lt. Sidney Martin has been professionally trained as a soldier, and on the day before the mountain battle, Lt. Martin is watching the troops and thinking about the duties of a leader in war.

Setting

The story begins and ends in Vietnam during America's war with that country. In Paul Berlin's imagination, his squad travels several thousand miles, from Vietnam to Paris, with stops in...