The paragraph reveals that during the Civil War, there was a strict adherence to military discipline, where soldiers who failed to fulfill their duties, such as sleeping at their post, could face severe consequences, including execution. This highlights a cultural context of the era where loyalty, duty, and the consequences of disobeying orders were taken very seriously within the military structure. It underscores the harsh realities faced by soldiers during the war, reflecting the broader themes of honor, discipline, and the grave penalties associated with wartime conduct.
What does this paragraph reveal about the story's
cultural context?
(1 point)
Responses
Soldiers in the Vietnam War who did not follow
orders were considered criminals.
Soldiers in the Vietnam War who did not follow orders were considered criminals.
Western Virginia was considered neutral territory
during the Civil War.
Western Virginia was considered neutral territory during the Civil War.
Soldiers during the Civil War faced execution if
they did not fulfill their duties.
Soldiers during the Civil War faced execution if they did not fulfill their duties.
Exhaustion was widespread among military troops
during the Korean War.
Exhaustion was widespread among military troops during the Korean War.
A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce
‘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 West Virginia. He lay at full length, upon his stomach, his feet resting upon the toes, his head upon the left forearm. His extended right hand loosely grasped his rifle. But for the somewhat methodical disposition of his limbs and a slight rhythmic movement of the cartridge box at the back of his belt he might have been thought to be dead. He was asleep at his post of duty. But if detected he would be dead shortly afterward, that being the just and legal penalty of his crime.
"A Horseman in the Sky" by Ambrose Bierce
1 answer