Bargain By A. B Guthrie Jr Summary

Aristotle once said “At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; seperated from law and justice he is the worst”. In A.B Guthrie, Jr.’s short story “Bargain” the protagonist Mr. Baumer demonstrates through his actions the extent to which a man who is so separated from the law will go for revenge. When a freighter by the name of Slade who was hired by Mr. Baumer to transport goods to his store was found dead on the side of the road, many characters are lead to believe that Slade's death was caused by the cold weather conditions. However, further narration by Al who works for Mr. Baumer reveals that Slade's death could be a potential homicide premeditated by Mr. Baumer himself. Textual evidence found throughout the story proves the claim

Baumer, a general store owner set in Moon Dance, Montana in the late 19th century was a man operating in a town that he wasn’t exactly prepared for. This is a time where freighters steal from their employers , the nearest train station is fifty miles away, the law is far and so is justice. Yet In Mr Baumer's case however, broken bones are also not often healed properly. From a historical analysis, the setting of this story plays an important part in the conflict between Mr.Baumer and Slade. Lauren G Kirszner defines setting as “Background which the action of a work takes place.” When Mr.Baumer confronts slade ordering him to pay his debt for stealing alcohol, slade without hesitation crumples up the bill and twists Mr.Baumer's nose into his eyes. Further narration by Al a worker for Mr.Baumer at the general store, reveals a significant insight on how Mr.Baumer and the people who witnessed this event reacted to it, highlighting the cultural and historical factor that could allow someone to get away with

Al reveals that Mr.Baumer has hired Slade to deliver the shipment. To their surprise the other freighter Moore found Slade dead in the snow. Although it was said that the exact reasoning for Slade's death was that he was frozen, in the text it is heavily implied that Slade didn't die from the cold weather conditions but from the consumption of wood alcohol. It was well known that Slade could not read and had no formal education. Slade is also known to steal alcohol by drinking it while delivering supplies as all the other freighters were known to do. Mr Baumer who knew that Slade was unable to read purposely bought wood alcohol that also comes in a barrel like regular alcohol , predicting Slade would drink it unknowingly. Al recognizes the strange purchase by Mr. Baumer and asks “we’ll never sell all this will we?”(Guthrie Jr., 11) then Mr.Baumer answers with a very defensive statement “Sure we sell it. I get it cheap. A bargain, Al, so I buy it”.(Guthrie Jr.,11) It is very significant that Mr. Baumer answers why he bought it even though Al only asked him will if the product would sell. He continues to rush Al, Colly and Ed ensuring they did a fast job unloading and they were on their way home. As Al finished unloading the barrels he takes a look at the barrel again and realizes the barrel is poison. He then puts the pieces of evidence together in his head