Joselyn SabillonPeriod 402.16.12Critical Analysis Setting: The setting is in Fresno, California. The setting affects the atmosphere of the story because if it was raining a lot or snowing the story wouldnt be able to take place Although it was a sunny morning, he was cold in the whipping wind (Soto 4). They had to go to the paintball war outside of Fresno if the setting would have been different they would not be able to go, They were going to a paintball war in the foothills outside Fresno (Soto 3).Parts of the Plot: Michael was running for his life so he wouldnt get shot. He was more than afraid to get shot, he saw himself running away, he could see himself dead in the field, a vulture picking at his entrails (Soto 8). Michael and his team were running from the Vietnam vets; they hid to prevent being put out of the game. Michael felt like he was at war, a real Vietnam War. He wanted to prove that he was better than Trung (his best friend) at paintball, so he was trying his best to win. He wanted his team to win. He shot every time he had a chance toward the enemies, He swung away from the tree and launched an attack as he moved from one tree to another (Soto 16). After the fight with the Vietnamese soldier Michael was only twenty yards away from the flag. He made an attempt to reach for it with all the bravery in the world but he failed. To him it was an act of courage he felt like he was a real cadet at the moment. Characterization: The protagonist in this story was Michael Ortiz. The antagonists were the Vietnamese Veterans. Michael was a jealous person; he wanted to be better than his best friend Trung, Miguel made no bones that he was jealous of that extra ribbon on Trungs shirt (Soto 3). He was pleased with the way he looked; he was a cadet in middle school. Now he was a year older. His body said so. He was two inches taller (Soto 2). He thought of himself being sharp. The Vietnamese Veterans were old.He was trim, and his jaw was dark with a day-old beard (Soto 9). When they went to paintball they thought of themselves as little kids again. They enjoyed going to paintball it was sort of an escape for them. Point of View: This was a third person limited narrator point of view. Examples: Friendly fire, Michael thought. He had heard that before (Soto 10). Michael thought, Left flank, ten oclock. (Soto 12). Michael followed his squad and the barking of their leader (Soto 10). Michael squirmed from the pain and then forced his body to be still, even as the nosebleed started again and rolled down the side of his cheek. (Soto 21). In all throughout the story the author is talking about Michael in third person. The only thoughts that were revealed were Michaels. Theme: The theme is that you need to believe in yourself no matter how bad you think things are, He ran his index finger under his nostril-just crusted blood (Soto 20). There are going to be obstacles but at end you are going to make it if you believe in yourself. He was a cadet. He pictured himself being lowered into the ground, a bivouac ribbon on his chest after all (Soto 21). Michael now believes he is a real cadet. He accomplished what his goal was. He no longer felt the pain. At the end he just had to believe in himself and thats the way he made it, He stood up, mumbled, [You can do it], and shooed away the gnats that circled his face (Soto 20). I am a lot like Michael. I would have got the courage to win it for the team. If I would have been in the same situation I would have done the same thing. I think that I can identify with him the best because hes a young kid and sometimes we feel like we need to be better than others but later on we find that we just need to feel good with ourselves. We dont need to prove that we are better than others just feel comfortable with our own selves. The feeling wasnt unexpected because I was expecting Michael to be a brave kid he was just hiding it. I always knew that he was going to do more than just hide and shoot. I personally did like the book because it is an interesting story. Something I didnt like was that Michael was jealous of his best friend. Other than that I feel like it was a very good. Bibliography entry of the book I read: Soto, Gary. Help Wanted: Paintball in the Wild. Florida: Harcourt Inc, 2005.