ipl-logo

Ambrose Bierce's Influence On The American Civil War

864 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge short summary

Writers are often inspired by people and the events that they experience in their life by using these experiences as a basis for their voice and identity in writing. The American Civil War that was fought between the Northern United States and the Southern states in 1861 to 1861 was one of these significant moments. The Southern states, also known as the Confederate States of America, fought for the right to form their own independent nation and determine their own destiny (“Civil War”). They mainly did this to keep the US federal government from intervening with African American slavery. After four violent years, the Civil War ended with a Union, also known as the Northern United States, victory in 1865 (“Civil War”). After the war, American …show more content…

He grew up to severed relations with his family which lead to him establishing himself (“Commentary on Ambrose”). At a very young age, Ambrose Bierce joined the Union army which brought experiences as a soldier that served as a basis for some of his most famous Civil War tales, such as “Chickamauga” and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (“Commentary on Ambrose”). These tales explored the lives at the frontier and on the homefront while showing the cruel costs of war on civilians, and they publicize violent endings that many met (Bierce). Bierce was known for the naturalist movement that arose in American literature during the Reconstruction era. Naturalism was a writing style based on instinct, passion, and individuals. These literary works were driven by the character rather than being driven by a plot (“Naturalism”). Ambrose took a harsh view of the military boldness that spirited much of the immediate post war literature. After the Civil War, Bierce worked as a journalist for a popular column called “The Prattler.” This happened when he relocated to San Francisco, California. As a dark and bewildering figure, Ambrose Bierce voiced his dissatisfaction against a changing American society. In 1913, Bierce left for Mexico and disappeared without a trace (“Commentary on …show more content…

Ambrose was an American story writer that used cynicism and naturalism to tell the cruel costs of of war on civilians. He used “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” as a way to tell a story about Peyton Farquhar having a near-death experience similar to one he had in reality. With Ambrose’s military experience, he was well equipped to write about a traumatic injury that led to a near-death experience. His vault of memories including graphic images were used in each of his Civil War tales. Even though Ambrose Bierce may have seemed like a dark figure, he expressed cynicism of the Reconstruction era and shaped the writers who voiced disillusionment following

Show More
Related

Summary Of The Civil War A Exercise History By Louis Masur

338 Words | 2 Pages

The Civil War. Louis P. Masur’s book, The civil War: a Concise History, Is a book that gives an overview of the civil war from 18 to 1800, Providing multiple causes an consequences that emerged from the war. The book begins by reviewing the origins of the war. Chapter one covers the issues between northern and southern states and the tension over right and slave possession. The tension created a conflict that raised a number of political, social, and military events that then proceeded into a battle to abolish slavery from the colonies.

Read More

Composition And Rhetoric: Richmond Post Civil War

453 Words | 2 Pages

Etaja Green Professor Stephen Brandon ENG 112 - Composition and Rhetoric 20 March 2017 Richmond Post Civil War The Civil War was a battle fought between the Northern states and the Southern states between eighteen sixty-one and eighteen sixty-five. The was also known as “The Battle Between The States” The war was fought between the states due to differences in opinions on taxes, tariffs, and states rights vs federal rights.

Read More

James M. Mcpherson's What They Fought For: 1861-1865

1091 Words | 5 Pages

The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History.

Read More

Summary Of Seven Days Battle By Shelby Foote

1759 Words | 8 Pages

Realities of war are revealed to us by the people that fight in it, yet war itself does just the very same to those fighting. The actions people make on the battlefield, or lack thereof, can be quite telling as to who they are at the core of their individuality. Shelby Foote presents a great deal of battlefield narrative to tell us about who the characters on the stage on the Civil War are without being forthright himself. This can be observed in Foote’s telling of the Seven Days Battle. Just in these six battles over seven days in Richmond, Foote teaches us a great deal about war.

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In Alfred M Green Speech

506 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War was a fundamental time in the shaping our our nation. The United States was divided, brawling over the topic of slavery. Our country was split into 2 sides: North and South. Alfred M. Green, an African American Abolitionist, delivered a speech in April 1861, shortly after the onset of the war. The Union Army had prohibited African Americans from enlisting.

Read More

How Did Harriet Tubman Contribute To The Civil War

1140 Words | 5 Pages

The American Civil War took place between the years of 1861 through 1865. This was a time of hardships and struggle for all people living in the United States. In fact, The United States wasn’t even called this name at the time, but rather it was split into two. The South, fighting for slavery called themselves “The Confederates States of America”, and the North fighting to end slavery was known as “The Union.” At the time of the war, men were going off to fight and eventually began to get enlisted into the army.

Read More

The Role Of Isolation In Civil War Literature

117 Words | 1 Pages

Prior to the civil war american s had illusions of innocence and isolation from the forces of history. After studying literature from the period known as realism, we know that these writers used their words to portray realistically america’s various social issues and struggles such as states rights, slavery, and death. These writers portrayed social issues and the struggles of ordinary people. No longer did the literature contain the supernatural of the romantic period. On the contrary, works such as “Follow the Drinking Gourd”, “War is Kind” and “ Letter to Son” changed america’s idea of innocence and isolation from the horrors of history because the civil war was the only war where every death was American.

Read More

Civil War Essay

710 Words | 3 Pages

A Civil War is when a country fights against each other. The north wanted to keep the country together as whole. The south wanted to keep slaves.

Read More

Short And Long Term Effects Of The Civil War

563 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War is a very brutal war in American History. One nation fought and killed its own people, and over half a million lives were destroyed and even more families were torn apart. The nation was divided because of slavery. In the North, people wanted to abolish slavery and make free states. In the South, people wanted to keep slavery because it was profitable to their economy and generated a 100% profit on all goods sold.

Read More

Civil War Dbq

1055 Words | 5 Pages

The American Civil War was a war fought in the US between the North and the South from 1861 to 1865. People have debated on the reasons for this war for a long time, but there are more reasons than one would think. While slavery is sometimes thought to be the only cause for the American Civil War and sectionalism of the United States, other things like the Industrial movement and Abolitionism had a big impact on why the war was fought. The Industrial movement was when America started mass producing different commodities while needing a lot of labor too. Slaves in the South started getting tired and sick of being owned and forced to do work, and decided they would rather die and kill a few of their owners than keep in the labor.

Read More

Why Did African Americans Win The Civil War

747 Words | 3 Pages

The American Civil War was a war fought over equality. The country was split into North and the South, the union and the confederates. The war was sparked by the election of the sixteenth president Abraham Lincoln in 1860. A month after Lincoln took office the Civil War would officially start. President Lincoln wanted to get slavery out of the states.

Read More

African American Impact On Frederick Douglass

2245 Words | 9 Pages

Reading a relatable story may arise as one of the most enjoyable activities to do. Though mystical writings and stories that make readers jump out of their seat fall as entertaining, reading a familiar story that anyone can relate to transpire as gratifying. In the early 1830s, the writing styles of American writers changed with the passage of time and life; the shift presented the current empathetic style of writing. At the end of the Civil War, an escalating number of immigrants flocking to the country allowed it to flourish. People at the time, however, faced a number of challenges: disease, a harsh climate and environment, a lack of food, and the negative consequences of industrialization.

Read More

What Are The Causes Of The Civil War

534 Words | 3 Pages

The Civil War was a unique and significant event in American history. According to many historians, the war was ultimately the final resolution of contradictions in the vision of America when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. It stated that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights”. The war’s origins lay in slavery, which began in North America in the early 1600s and grew rapidly in the South, which caused the southern economy as a whole depended on heavily on slave labor leading up to the Civil War. Slavery, the splitting of which state would be slave or free, and Abraham Lincoln played a major role that was responsible for the nature of the war than any other individual.

Read More

Uncle Tom's Cabin Literary Criticism

247 Words | 1 Pages

The Civil War sharply interrupted American literary activity. No longer could Americans look to the future with optimism; the events surrounding the Civil War prompted them to assess their world directly and honestly. The attack on Fort Sumter didn’t start the Civil War in 1861; the war began 10 years earlier, with the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” At least, that’s what Abraham Lincoln claimed, when he met Stowe in 1862 and reportedly greeted her as “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Many scholars maintain that no book has ever had a more direct and powerful influence on American history than Stowe’s novel, which inflamed opposition to slavery in the North and

Read More

Consequences Of The Romantic Period

1364 Words | 6 Pages

There was a time in America, specifically in North America, where the possibilities to express, create, and experiment in any field were limited. Since the beginning of the era of 1800, the society was plunged into a world where what we know today as 'freedom of speech ' did not exist. Nevertheless, there were some who went beyond and they sought an escape or a way to face this revolution. An equally significant aspect of this revolution was that literary diverse, artistic and social movements emerged. Whilst industrialization had left damaged nationalist sentiment of some Americans, there were others who found a way to make it blossom.

Read More

More about Ambrose Bierce's Influence On The American Civil War

Related Topics

Open Document