the author uses setting to create a somber mood. the twenty six soldiers have all been marching, silently in the dark, none of them showing any excitement for battle, all of them just desperate for a break and to see the sea. the atmosphere is melancholy not only because the soldiers are weary, but the darker tomes also reflect the grief that the soldiers feel over the loss of one of their comrades. these choices affect the reader by illustrating the emotions of PFC Berlin in a more complete and detailed fashion: the reader can identify not only the grief that he feels, but it is illustrated through the dark and murky mood as Berlin reminisces for his own youth and innocence. almost as if the weather that a character or the reader perceives is a reflection of emotion.

"Chain Gang" - Sam Cooke
and what do you suppose is the message in the song?

obviously, life is diffucult, and it's something that you see everywhere. people singing it in the streets, while they work, at home, just over and over again.
That's the sound of the men,
Working on the chain, gang

these people are stuck together, just part of a machine, and sometimes it gets tiring. 

but:

I'm going home one of these days
I'm going home, see my woman
Whom I love so dear
But meanwhile I gotta work right here

there is hope. the people in this 'chain gang' all have something to look forward to, whether it is a person, a home, or something. in life, there will be work and hardships, but there will also be a time to rest. 

this is a post for later i forgot what i was supposed to do