Romanticism is the quality or state of being impractical or unrealistic, while Realism focuses in the realistic of life. Ambrose Bierce and W.D Howell campaign against romanticism in two of their important short stories: Bierce’s “Chickamauga” and Howell’s “Editha.” On the other hand, Mark Twain’s “The War-Prayer” rehearses and recasts a dynamic which we find operating in other texts that work to unmask the face of war. Moreover, Ambrose Bierce’s short story “Chickamauga,” a terrifying version of what we now call the “collateral damage” of war, is emblematic of how these stories expose war for what it is. Bierce’s aim in the story “Chickamauga,” is to explode romantic and naïve notions about war by showing the audience its brutal realities
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In the story “Chickamauga,” there is a young boy who plays at war until discovering the appalling realities of combat. The levels on which Bierce’s story works to dismantle romanticism are indeed legion: the romantic child, for instance, becomes a child of violence, “born to war” and clutching his toy sword “in unconscious sympathy with his martial environment” as he sleeps through the battle of Chickamauga. Despite the boy’s martial spirit, Bierce’s narrator emphasizes the child’s limited perception (Edwards 72). Things are not as they seems in the story either because the boy acts brave and not scared, but he really was scared. The soldiers are not as they seem either to the boy. The boy believes they are some monsters. The twist in “Chickamauga” comes when the audience finds out the boy is deaf. This perception changes things a bit. The audience finds out that his parent’s died and the boy’s house burns down. Overall, “Chickamauga” was a good twist to find out. In conclusion, Ambrose Bierce’s stories are not always as they seem. Most of his stories come with a twist. Both “Chickamauga” and “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” are wrapped around romanticism and war as well. Ambrose Bierce looked up to Mark Twain growing up, and looked at him for inspiration. Both writers have similarities when writing. Both came together to write “Kindred Rivals.” Overall, Ambrose Bierce is now an inspiration
In the story “Chickamauga,” there is a young boy who plays at war until discovering the appalling realities of combat. The levels on which Bierce’s story works to dismantle romanticism are indeed legion: the romantic child, for instance, becomes a child of violence, “born to war” and clutching his toy sword “in unconscious sympathy with his martial environment” as he sleeps through the battle of Chickamauga. Despite the boy’s martial spirit, Bierce’s narrator emphasizes the child’s limited perception (Edwards 72). Things are not as they seems in the story either because the boy acts brave and not scared, but he really was scared. The soldiers are not as they seem either to the boy. The boy believes they are some monsters. The twist in “Chickamauga” comes when the audience finds out the boy is deaf. This perception changes things a bit. The audience finds out that his parent’s died and the boy’s house burns down. Overall, “Chickamauga” was a good twist to find out. In conclusion, Ambrose Bierce’s stories are not always as they seem. Most of his stories come with a twist. Both “Chickamauga” and “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” are wrapped around romanticism and war as well. Ambrose Bierce looked up to Mark Twain growing up, and looked at him for inspiration. Both writers have similarities when writing. Both came together to write “Kindred Rivals.” Overall, Ambrose Bierce is now an inspiration