Blog 7

The short story “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce was written during the time of the Civil War. This story describes the thoughts of a man, Peyton Fahrquhar, who was being hung for trying to blow up Owl Creek Bridge. Peyton Fahrquhar was a plantation owner who wanted to help his country during the time of the Civil War. That is why he blew up the bridge. He got some information from a soldier that the “Yanks” were fixing the railroads and bridges so that they could make another advance. The soldier told him that if any civilian messed with any bridges or railroads that they would be immediately hung. Fahrquhar of course thought that he would be able to get away with it and he wanted to be able to help the South out during the war, so he decided that he would try to burn down the bridge. Turns out, the soldiers who were advising Fahrquhar were actually Yanks. They had tricked Fahrquhar into trying to burn down the bridge, and they caught him doing it and hung him. This story is all about Fahrquhar’s thoughts as he is about to be hung. It shows how he imagines that he will escape his fate.

Ambrose Bierce was against slavery. He worked as a printers apprentice for an antislavery newspaper before fighting in the Civil War and eventually becoming a lieutenant. I think that Ambrose Bierce was against slavery because he wrote this story about a man who was a plantation owner and also owned slaves, being hung. “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” shows a couple soldiers from the North tricking this plantation owner into being hung. I think that his experience writing for an antislavery newspaper probably influenced his views. Ralph Waldo Emerson was also against slavery.  He believed that people should be equal. "All men have my blood, and I have all men's.” (Emerson). This quote from Emerson’s “Self Reliance” shows that Emerson believes that all men are kind of like brothers. I think that Emerson  feels the same way about slavery. He feels that all men should be treated the same, like family. I think that Emerson and Bierce both share this idea.  

Bibliography

Emerson, Ralph W. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. 

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" Page By Page Books. Read Classic Books Online, Free. Page By Page Books. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. 

Blog 6

When I was looking for Robert E. Lee’s letter to his son, I saw that he had written many letters to his family members. He wrote letters to his wife, sister and his son during the civil war.

In the letter that Robert E. Lee wrote to his son, he talked about how much he did not want the union to be divided. “It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation” (Lee). Robert E. Lee feels very strongly that the union should stay together.

Another thing that Robert E. Lee feels strongly about is that if a nation has to fight to preserve itself, then it is not a good nation anyways. Although Robert E. Lee feels that the nation should stay together, he does not think that it is worth it if he has to continue fighting for it. “Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me” (Lee).

In his letter, Robert E. Lee talks about how he is proud of his country and he says that he would do what ever it takes to defend it. “As an American citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any state if her rights were invaded.” (Lee).

Robert E. Lee was fighting in the civil war so that his country could stay together and not be divided. Robert E. Lee was against slavery and so was Ralph Waldo Emerson. This is a philosophy that both of these men shared. Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that owning slaves and enslaving people was immoral and wrong. He did not own slaves and he had sympathy for the anti- slavery movement. “It was because the life of the American people was low,vulgar,mean, that slavery was possible” (Cooke). Emerson believed that people were valuable and that the only reason that slavery existed was because American people had very bad morals.



Bibliography

Cooke, George Willis. Ralph Waldo Emerson His Life, Writings, and Philosophy. Boston: J.R. Osgood and, 1881. Print.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter To His Son." 23 Jan. 1861. Wikispaces. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.