Job #3

"An appalling plash within two yards of him was followed by a loud, rushing sound, diminuendo, which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort and died in an explosion which stirred the very river to its deeps! A rising sheet of water curved over him, fell down upon him, blinded him, strangled him! The cannon had taken a hand in the game. As he shook his head free from the commotion of the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead, and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond."

Chapter 3

    This passage reminded me of the many trials we encounter in life. We have loud, hard and challenging obstacles we face. In this paragraph, Peyton is fighting for his life, although today we may not have to fight for our life every time, we have to fight to survive, learn, thrive, and essentially work hard to get what we hope to achieve. The word "diminuendo" means decrease in sound, which in this case I believe it has a double meaning. After the cannon shoots there is a silence, but additionally I think it represents the peace before the storm.

    Here Peyton fights with every ounce of strength he has to attain his goal, which is staying alive. However, despite his efforts, Peyton dies in the end. Now our life is not near as drastic as Peyton's, but we do have smaller trials that end in an unfair outcome. We fail, lose friends, people get sick and die, this world is full of sin. In life, at times we try our hardest for an outcome in our favor, but sometimes things work out differently than we expect. It serves as a reminder that God is in control and His plan is good and perfect. What the Devil means for bad, God means for good and we can have joy in that. 

Job #2

Do you guys like this story? Did you guys have a takeaway from it? Do you think there is a moral or a life lesson the author is trying to communicate to his readers? 

Job #1

The man who was engaged in being hanged was apparently about thirty-five years of age. He was a civilian, if one might judge from his habit, which was that of a planter. His features were good—a straight nose, firm mouth, broad forehead, from which his long, dark hair was combed straight back, falling behind his ears to the collar of his well-fitting frock-coat. He wore a mustache and pointed beard, but no whiskers; his eyes were large and dark gray, and had a kindly expression which one would hardly have expected in one whose neck was in the hemp. Evidently this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.

Chapter 1

In this passage, Peyton Fahrquhar is described in a pleasant light. He appears to be kind, strong, wealthy, and a person who the South would consider a gentleman for the time. Peyton is married with kids, and he owns a plantation on Southern soil which appears to be quite successful, as it is described luxuriously. However, despite these factors, Fahrquhar is being hung. Do you guys think this is a fair punishment?

I think the last part of this passage is very interesting. It says that no matter the social status of a person, whether wealthy or poor, they will each suffer the same consequence. Throughout many times in history, we see people with larger amounts of money in the bank use their wealth to bribe law enforcement or buy their way out of a punishment. However, in this story, Bierce writes a statement that contradicts the common actions of that stereotype. In this scenario, that statement seems true, Fahrquar is a respectable gentleman among his community and he is sentenced to death. What do you guys think? Do you think this statement is true today?

 Hi :) 

Hope you enjoy what is to come!

Amber Mae