Drinking alcohol can kill the toughest and the buffest of them all. In the historical fiction story The Bargain by A.B. Guthrie, a man name Slade is cruel and vicious to Mr. Baumer and Al. One day Slade dies. After Slade died Mr. Baumer took a container of wood alcohol of Slades crate. Now the question of the story is, is Mr. Baumer responsible or not responsible for Slades death? For many reasons, Mr. Baumer is not responsible for Slades death. Slades death was an act of revenge because Mr. Baumer wanted to get back at him for hurting him, but Mr. Baumer wanted to do it in a sneaky way. Knowing Slade was a thief, he cannot read, and he likes to drink, Mr. Baumer set a trap.
The first reason is Slade is a thief. Mr. Baumer was telling Al about Slade when he said,” That Slade, he steal whiskey and call it evaporation…” (Guthrie). If Slade did not steal then he would not have stolen the wood alcohol for the truck and he would have lived. Mr. Baumer wanted to get back at Slade for hurting him and he knew he was a thief, so he put out the wood alcohol knowing Slade would steal it.
…show more content…
In the book Mr. Baumer says,” Better study, Al...is good to know to read and write” (Guthrie). This proves it is not Mr. Baumers fault Slade die because if Slade knew how to read then he would have seen that the bottle said “Wood Alcohol”. If he knew how to read then he would not have drank the poison and therefore he would be alive. Some may say that Mr. Baumer was responsible for Slades death but, at the end of the story, Mr. Baumer tells Al,”Then ye go home, Al. Is good to know to read” (Guthrie). This shows he is not responsible because it if Slade knew how to read then he would have saw it said poison. Mr. Baumer knew Slade could not read, so he tested Slade to see if he would realize it was poison and kill