As I was reading through the book, this quote really stuck out to
me. Here, Bierce personifies Death, making it a character who is well known by
the soldiers in the story. Judging by the mention of Union advances, the story
takes place near then end of the Civil War, meaning that these soldiers are
most likely battle-hardened, killing machines. Because of the war, they have become
well acquainted with Death. It's almost as if war not only makes Death a close
comrade of the solder, but also the commander - the king. What war does is
determine not who is right, but who is left. By taking Farquhar's life, these
soldiers are simply paying their dues their king, ensuring that they are the
ones who are left. They take a live to stay alive. When Farquhar is
"escaping," the executioners keep firing at him, not wishing him to
live out the day. Is it because they just straight up hate his guts? Because of
the propaganda spread throughout the war, they may have. More probably though,
they were merely doing their job.
People can become
incredibly hardened to death when constantly exposed to it. With soldiers,
becoming hardened is a necessity. If they allow themselves to morn those they
have killed, they will tear themselves apart. Death is something that not only happens
often, but also inevitably. Why then, are we as a society so uncomfortable with
the topic? Why do we still view this occurrence as strange and unfamiliar? And
why are we unable to come to terms with death, at best only being able to
harden ourselves instead? Is this a modern dilemma, a cultural one, or am I the
only one who still finds this subject to be both fascinating and terrifying?
Pierce personifies death as a dignified gentleman who always commands respect. When I read this quote I thought of the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"by Emily Dickenson where she personifies death as a gentlemen with civility who was in a carriage and kindly stopped for her, as a gentleman would do.
ReplyDeleteGreat thought, Forrest. Mrs. Shelburne would be so proud :)
DeleteI think we in general are uncomfortable with death because we see it happen to other people, but there's no possible way we can experience it unless it happens to us. And when it happens, you enter the unknown.
ReplyDeleteAnd generally the unknown to anyone is uncomfortable and if they try to figure out the unknown, they find they don't have great options unless they become a Christian.
DeleteIn this passage the soldiers respected the death of Peyton while in battle the soldiers would have a kill or be killed mentality. I wonder why the soldiers respected the death of Peyton when they had a reason for killing him. Perhaps it is because they actually knew who they were killing because in battle they wouldn't always know who they had killed.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good point. If I was in a war it wouldn't be as meaningful to kill someone that I haven't seen. If they could relate to the soldiers they killed or knew more about them I bet war would be a lot different.
DeleteI think that as humans the unknown makes us uncomfortable. I believe that fuels our drive for knowledge. As a christian I have tools such as the bible that gives us good insight on what happens after death. This however requires faith and we don't have a way to prove it and as humans we aren't very trusting. Death is a scary thing to all since no one knows fully what the experience will be like.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Josh. We do have the Bible which gives us a glimpse of what happens after death. But there is a short time right after death that no one knows about until they experience it. We shouldn't fear it if we believe in Jesus but...human nature.
DeleteI think death is uncomfortable for people because no one really knows what happens when a person dies. They are there one minute and the next they are gone. Do they go somewhere or is everything done. No one who has experienced death is able to tell us what happens, therefore I think people shy away from the strange and undiscovered topic. People also realize in the back of their minds that they themselves are going to have to face death someday, just like everyone else. This thought forces them to discover what death means and usually they are uncomfortable with their conclusion (Dying and rotting in the ground for example).
ReplyDelete