Term Paper on "Ambrose Bierce What I Saw at Shiloh"

Term Paper 9 pages (2646 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Ambrose Bierce, What I saw at Shiloh

Sarcasm in "What I Saw of Shiloh"

Armed conflicts have a devastating effect on society, considering that they are responsible for a great deal of casualties and that they significantly traumatize individuals that experience them from a first-hand perspective. Sergeant Ambrose Bierce's account of the battle at Shiloh is representative when considering wars being told by people who actually lived to see them. Bierce's story is different from typical historic narratives in regard to warfare because it addresses matters from a different view point. The writer was particularly shocked by the suffering he witnessed on the battlefields at Shiloh and thus considered that it was essential for him to share his experience with the rest of the world so as for people to be able to refrain from performing warfare.

In spite of the fact that he was experienced in performing warfare and despite that he was appreciated on account of his military expertise, Bierce did not want "What I Saw of Shiloh" to provide readers with an account relating to the military experience of the battle. Instead, he focused on the suffering caused by the conflict and the general absurdness that dominates the atmosphere during a war. It appears that Bierce actually wants people to be disturbed with his story, as he apparently wants to emphasis the wrongness related to warfare and the fact that it is very important for people to have a complex understanding about the actual feelings that a person goes through as he or she experiences a conflict from a personal perspective.

War is not an environment where one can pause and consider his or her behavior, the feelings of the persons that he or she needs to face, or the consequences of his or her actions. It is all about surviving and killing the enemy, regardless of whether one feels sorry as he or she murders the person who wanted to kill him or her. Bierce exaggerated the things that he saw because he knew that people would feel even more disgusted with the concept of warfare as they would come across his writings. It is very probable that if he would have actually wanted to simply recount the events happening at Shiloh "he would never have permitted the dead to die so dramatically" (McWilliams 226).

Bierce was very similar to an ordinary individual consequent to the battle at Shiloh and this is one of the principal concepts present throughout the story. This experience did not only shape his personality, as it also assisted him in growing into an adult who acknowledges the impurity present in the human society. The author is particularly affected by this events and he feels that it played a major role in changing the way that he saw the world. "O'Day's when all the world was beautiful and strange; when unfamiliar constellations burned in the Southern midnights, and the mocking bird poured out his hear in the moon-gilded magnolia" (Bierce 17). While he previously perceived the world as a beautiful place that could be exploited to the fullest, the event at Shiloh changed his opinion and provided him with a glimpse of what the world was really like, making him understand that evil could engulf the whole world in terror if people wanted to.

From the very first moments of the story Bierce provides his readers with his perspective concerning the Civil War and with how it progressed. The writer looks at military leaders and at authoritarian individuals in general and considers them to be solely interested in the general purpose of their mission. He does not appear to join the rest of the military in expressing confusion concerning General Grant's decision to stay on the enemy's side of the river without waiting for reinforcements. He simply claims that "perhaps Grant was weary of waiting" (Bierce 3).

Bierce looks at military strategies as being insensitive and considers that sarcasm is one of the principal attitudes that a person can adopt during a conflict in order to be affected as little as possible by it. It is almost as if Bierce uses sarcasm as a weapon meant to guarantee his safety in an environment where it is very difficult for individuals to cope. The writer devised his own coping technique and does not hesitate to use it while depicting some of the most terrible experiences that one can go through. His lack of interest in Grant's plan makes it possible for readers to understand that it is wrong for someone to get actively involved in a conflict because the respective individual can actually end up being consumed by his thinking. From Bierce's point-of-view, war is immoral and a person can only wind up falling victim to it if he or she attempts to engage in decision-making processes that can have a devastating effect on a lot of people.

Bierce describes how the military advanced by relating how "the air was full of thunder and the earth was trembling beneath their feet; and if there is truth in the theory of the conversion of force, these men were storing up energy from every shock that burst its waves upon their bodies" (Bierce 4). However, he also highlights the fact that "the eyes reported only matter for despair" (Bierce 4). He is perfectly aware of how these men felt, considering that he was there to feel the exact feelings that they experienced. However, he does not hesitate to consider the possibility of them being empowered by their strength as a group. The writer practically mocks the presumed courage of these people by indirectly saying that it is impossible for a person to stay calm and courageous while knowing that he or she is about to face a great threat.

When considering Bierce's thinking, one can understand that a soldier should not occupy his time judging war strategies and trying to assist his superiors in experiencing positive results. Instead, all that he can do is to hope that the next conflict is not going to end badly for him. Military strategists are often inclined to disregard the lives of soldiers and simply want to push on without expressing interest in the well-being of people serving under them. The writer initially claims that "two little steamers were doing their duty well" (Bierce 4) as they transported troops across the river (apparently wanting to laud their efficiency), only to admit that their action was actually assisting the enemy "by bringing more fish to his net" (Bierce 4). He apparently believes that dark humor is perfect when someone attempts to describe a warzone, especially considering that humor is one of the only things that a soldier can take with him on a battlefield with the purpose of experiencing as little psychological damage as possible. Bierce's use of sarcasm helped him as he struggled to detach himself from the horrible scenes that he witnessed. It is probable that the writer used far lesser sarcasm while performing his daily activities consequent to the war. The sarcasm that he employed while relating to the conflict and the general attitude that he used during the conflict enabled him to survive without being damaged to a point of no return.

To a certain degree, one can consider that Bierce wrote in regard to his Civil War experiences with the purpose of making peace with himself. The sarcasm that he uses throughout his writings provides him with the opportunity to judge matters from a more objective point-of-view. He apparently wanted to take a closer look at his experiences and to analyze the emotions that he felt while on the battle field. The use of sarcasm virtually made it possible for him to relate to his experiences as if he were a simple spectator at the time when the battle took place. It is very likely that he believed that he was not actually psychologically present during the conflict, as he seemed to consider that only those who died at the time were able to assess the full gravity of the war. The way that he detaches himself from the action downright demonstrates that he was actually inclined to consider that he the war was not happening right before his eyes with the purpose of feeling as little fear as he possibly could in those circumstances. "As a spectacle this was rather fine" (Bierce 5). The writer surely found it impossible to ignore the fact that he was on the front line, but he went through great efforts in an attempt to feel as if the conflict could not actually harm him.

The battle of Shiloh had a severe effect on Bierce's thinking and it made him realize that people were far crueler than he previously thought. "One thing, however, I hope I may without offense affirm of these swamp-dwellers -- they were pious. To what deity their veneration was given -- whether, like the Egyptians, they worshiped the crocodile, or, like other Americans, adored themselves,… READ MORE

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