Recurring Theme of Ambrose Bierce’s Short Stories: A Diagnose of Death One Summer Night Staley Fleming’s Hallucination

Introduction

Ambrose Bierce’s views content pessimism regarding human nature and his works frequently conveys the theme of fear, horror and death. He has dark, sardonic views and vehemence. Thus, he is known for “Bitter Bierce”. His works such as novels and short stories are often related by readers and critics to Edgar Allan Poe’s. A Diagnosis of Death, One Summer Night and Staley Fleming’s Hallucination are some of the short stories of Bierce that have the same theme of death. In these three short stories, the main characters all died because of bizarre causes. It all mentions apparitions that stir the mystery into more interesting read.

Discussion of the Theme

Bierce stirs up the mystery in the three short stories, A Diagnose of Death, One Summer Night and Staley Fleming’s Hallucination, by putting sinister apparitions and mysterious events which leads to the sudden death of its main characters. The stories turned out to be unsolved crimes caused by the horror and will of indescribable beings.

Death, as its major theme is flawlessly depicted in the short stories as a sudden event. In life, if it is the time to die, then it is. It may be sudden or it may be in the long process. In the short stories, the death of the main characters proves the intent of the writer. It is to put fear in the imagination of the reader as he enjoys reading the horror out of it.

The three characters, Hawver (A Diagnose of Death), Staley Fleming (Staley Fleming’s Hallucination) and Henry Armstrong (One Summer Night), died without stating the cause; leaving the readers questioning and imagining what might be the cause of it or how did they die. Thus, it gives the chance to the readers to think and it may result to terrify them creating fear and horror.

In the three short stories, Bierce associated each of the main characters with medical practitioners. In A Diagnose to Death, Hawver talks to Dr. Frayley and sees the ghost of Dr. Mannering; Staley Fleming in Staley Fleming’s Hallucination, also talks to his doctor, Dr. Halderman; and Henry Armstrong in One Summer Night, also has two medical students that he dealt with. Bierce might intend to connect the work of these medical practitioners to the theme of death. Their work is linked with life and death. Bierce might be expressing that the life of the patient depends on the hands of the medical practitioners. This might be the reason why he writes some of his short stories with medics in general. Medics work can be one of the reasons of a patient’s death.

Conclusion

Death might be a sad closure for a story. It is the end of being alive. Still, it makes a good story that will entertain readers. Capturing the interest of them by the circumstances which then lead to death can possibly help one in understanding death’s value. For a mature reader, death or tragedy forms the art of literature. Horror, fear and death contribute to the beauty of a literary work.

Bierce depicts death with the help of fear and horror that come from the apparitions and bizarre events of the three short stories. The major characters of the short stories died because of strange causes. The death of them aids the interests of questioning appear and imagining fast. The medics also contribute to the theme of death for their job is to help or extend his patient’s life. To the extent of their job, the worst case is causing the death of their patients.