Language

When analyzing the short story “Chickamauga”, it is important to look at the language employed by Ambrose Bierce, as it can deepen your understanding of the text.

The text is filled with descriptive language employed in depicting the wounded soldiers, their ghostly procession and the game of make-believe in which the little boy emerges.

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Ambrose Bierce also employed several other language devices which were meant to embellish his story and to make it more attractive to readers:

• Similes and comparisons
• Anaphora
• Speech breaks
• Imagery
• Personification

Similes and comparisons

First of all, the boy is depicted “like many a mightier conqueror”.

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Speech breaks

Speech breaks are employed when the author uses indirect free speech or when he adds supplementary explanations about the characters.

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Imagery

In the short story “Chickamauga”, imagery is mostly created with the help of epithets created by descriptive adverbs or adjectives.

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