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Ambrose Bierce's The Coup De Grace

1109 Words5 Pages

The Coup de Grace, written by Ambrose Bierce, is a realistic fiction short-story. This story takes place in the wilderness, among the aftermath of a bloody battle, which took place during the Civil War. Out of all three stories, I least enjoyed this one, due to, the overall lack of detail, imagery, and emotion. In my opinion, Bierce had several opportunities to add power and substance to the story; yet he simply went with a dry and unimaginative style. Obviously, in a story like this one -where it takes place during a specific war or event- the time period and setting are imperative to the plot. Although, if you omit the specifics, this story could have been placed in many different wars or battles; perhaps, though, it would not fit well in modern times, since our medical and rescue capabilities are exponentially better than they were during the Civil War. …show more content…

Bierce served throughout the Civil War, and experienced many horrific things during the many battles he participated in: which could have inspired The Coup de Grace. To be specific, Bierce detailed an account of one of his experiences, where a heavily wounded soldier lay on the ground, and another soldier inquires to him whether or not he should put him out of his misery with his bayonet. To the inquiry, he responded no; unlike how Cpt. Madwell reacted in The Coup de Grace. The main character of The Coup de Grace is a Union officer, called Captain Downing Madwell. Cpt. Madwell experienced a horrific plight, when he stumbled upon a friend, who was mortally wounded during the battle, and was lying on the ground within the edge of consciousness, while experiencing excruciating

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