Bargain By A. B Guthrie

Living in today’s society there are lots of revenge and not so much justice. In the historical fiction short story “Bargain,” by A.B Guthrie, a German immigrant and owner of a general store, attempts to collect a debt from Freighter Slade. After Slade refuses to up he decides to take matters into his own hands. Mr. Baumer is responsible for the death of Freighter Slade. Slade’s death was an act of revenge because justice would mean with the law, but Mr. Baumer went against the law to kill or poison Slade. Proving that revenge is more powerful than justice today. For instance, in “Bargain” when Mr. Baumer tells Al ,the narrator, that Slade does not know how to read and likes to steal. He uses this information to kill slade and get revenge on him for breaking his arm. He does this buying a poisonous wood-alcohol, because Slade likes to steal he took some and died as a result. The narrator Al says “There in big letters I saw “Wood Alcohol - Deadly Poison.”... “Then ye go home, Al. Is good to know to read.”(page 11). Based on this information, the reader understands how Mr. Baumer killed Slade from his own disabilities of not being able to read or stop stealing. Mr Baumer’s

Baumer’s actions are acts of revenge lets see how Mr Baumer’s actions are not an act of justice. Some people may say that Saldes death was not an act of revenge, but an act of justice. However, this does not take into consideration with the law the law only goes to an act of killing or shooting. To prove this Mr Baumer says in the story that “The law, it is not for plain fights,” he said “ Shooting? Robbing? Yes, the law come quick. The plain fights, they are too many. They don’t count enough.” This evidence challenges the idea of justice because the dispute between him and Slade was just a plain fight not something the sheriff or police would get into. The sheriff would not ask Mr. Baumer to just poison him, no! Mr. Baumer did it out of hi own will not of the