A. Military experiences

B. Effect of the loss of his wife and eldest son

A. Supernatural themes

VI. Bierce's subject matter in "Chickamauga"

VII. Bierce's theme in "Chickamauga"

VIII. Bierce's style in "Chickamauga"

A. Shifting points of view

B. Adult and child perspectives

Ambrose Bierce's "Chickamauga" is representative of his typical subject matter, theme, and style. His subject matter often deals with the Civil War and its horrors. Having served in several battles during the Civil War, Bierce strives to display, through his writings, the true devastation which comes as a result of wars. His theme, although sometimes macabre, emphasizes the reality of warfare. Again, Bierce is relying on his own war experience

Vincent Starrett explained "Chickamauga" as being unrivaled and representative of Bierce's greatest accomplishment in the art of writing (89). He wrote:

Detroit: Gale Research Comp., 1982.

Ambrose Bierce uses point of view well (May 370). He shifts views from one person to another. Gertrude Franklin Atherton said, "Bierce's art of construction is so subtle and his power so dominant that the minds of his readers are his until they lay down the work" (88).

Many people think Ambrose Bierce is obsessed with death; incapable of compassion. A less moralistic and biographical reevaluation of Bierce's work, however, reveals his intellectual fascination with the effect of the supernatural on the human imagination. (222)

s in order to have his audience empathize with his characters. Ambrose Bierce's style of writing includes shifting of views from one character to another. With his own unique subject matter, theme, and style, Bierce develops stories which interest readers from generation to generation.

The antiwar theme of Bierce's story depends on the basic tensions between the child world and the adult world and between fantasy and reality. The boy's fantasy world is his reality. When he meets the real reality, he is intrigued. He thinks the men who are dying are in his fantasy world and they become part of his reality. He doesn't know that the men are dying. Bierce develops the story on the ironic realization that the adult view of war often springs from childlike views in which men glorify battle in a heroic and fantasy image, only to find out too late that the reality of war is horror and death. (369)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ambrose Bierce, Civil War, Ambrose Bierce's, James Folsom, Chickamauga Charles, Vincent Starrett, War Chickamauga, Alan Gullette, War Bierce, Bierce's Chickamauga, ambrose bierce, civil war, ambrose bierce's, subject matter, appelbaum iii, theme style, typical subject matter, matter theme, bierce's typical, short stories, typical subject, matter theme style, subject matter theme, ambrose bierce's typical, detroit gale research,
Approximate Word count = 2080
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)