Critique: "But a Minor Role"

A gripping, almost meta-Western narrative where the classic hero (the American) really isn’t one and does nothing, and certainly nothing heroic. The American, seventeen, wants to become a part of the story involved with Major Crutzen and the repeated attempts by bandits to ‘make names for themselves.’ The focus instead shifts to Lieutenant Costilla, who is struck by the American boy’s desperate search for death and eventually ends that search by shooting the boy. I was a bit jarred by the occasional referral to ‘the story.’ Why include this? It drew me out of a very immersive narrative that was moving along with steady force. It made the story seem less real to me. I enjoyed the introduction of the characters, but felt that the opening sequence of chattering dialogue could have been abridged.