The paragraph reveals that "Soldiers could be executed if they didn’t fulfill their duties." It describes a soldier asleep at his post and highlights the severe consequences of such an action during wartime, such as the potential for execution due to dereliction of duty. This reflects the strict military discipline and the serious attitudes toward duty and responsibility in the context of the Civil War in the United States.
One sunny afternoon in the autumn of the year 1861, a soldier lay in a clump of laurel by the side of a road in western Virginia. He lay at full length, upon his stomach, his feet resting upon the toes, his head upon the left forearm. He was asleep at his post of duty. But if detected, he would be dead shortly afterwards, that being the just and legal penalty of his crime.
What does this paragraph reveal about the story’s cultural context?
Exhaustion was common among troops
Soldiers in Vietnam were criminals if they didn’t follow orders
Western Virginia was a neutral territory
Soldiers could be executed if they didn’t fulfill their duties
1 answer