Harrowing Short Story Chickamauga By Amber Bierce

In Amber Bierce’s harrowing short story “Chickamauga,” the author portrays that war is not all honor and glory, but momentous and deathly through imagery. In a make-believe game of battle, a little boy ventured further than his normal grounds and “went forward toward the dark inclosing wood.” The writer uses the words “dark” and “inclosing” to make the reader feel more on edge, and assemble an ominous atmosphere. It hints that this boy is no longer playing a recreation for children. Later on, the child runs into damaged soldiers who’s “creeping figures” had been lit up by a “strange red light,” giving them “monstrous” shadows. While that blaze may represent the light of glory, Bierce uses word “monstrous” to express how the soldiers felt internally-