summarise the story by the sky is high in 150 words
Answers
Explanation:
One of Ambrose Bierce's most read stories, A Horseman in the Sky (1889) is a vivid account of difficult ethical choices during wartime. We hope this guide is particularly useful for students and teachers.
Here's the story: A Horseman in the Sky, Character Analysis & Summary, Genre & Themes, Literary Devices & Vocabulary, Historical Context, Quotes, Discussion Questions, Paired Reading Recommendations, Useful Links, and Notes/Teacher Comments
A Horseman in the Sky: West Virginia Mountains
View from Seneca Rocks, North Fork Mountain near Grafton, West Virginia
Character Analysis & Summary
Character Analysis
Carter Druse - The story's protagonist, he is the only child of wealthy Virginia parents who decides to join the Union regiment that arrived in Grafton, Virginia, a few miles from their home. His action makes him a traitor to Virginia (according to his father) and breaks his heart. The Union officers assign Carter to a remote outpost as sentinel since he knows the terrain and they are impressed by his "deeds of devotion and daring." He betrays them by falling asleep on duty.
Carter's Father - A wealthy landowner in Western Virginia whose only son announced he is joining the Union, to which he replied, "Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty." His father promises they will speak more of the matter should they both live to the end of the war (that was prescient). The father is both staunchly reserved (does not show emotion), and reveres duty and family.
The Horseman - The identity of the rider is not revealed until the end of the story, when we learn it's Druse's father, a Confederate spy. Likened to a god, collosal in magnitude and seemingly having spiritual powers, Carter shoots him to avoid allowing him to reveal the Union regiment's position he's guarding in the valley below.
Carter's Mother - Though she never appears in the story, Carter's father reminds him that she is critically ill and will die in a few weeks. The young Druse does not announce his decision or say goodbye to her, at his father's insistence, due to her fragile condition.
The Officer - The only witness to the death of Druse's father, whom he sees falling over a thousand foot vertical cliff, appearing to fly as an apparition. He gave up searching for the body and horse and failed to report it.
Sargeant - The officer who hears the shot and interviews Druse, who confesses that the man he shot was his father, horrifying the sargeant.
The Angel - The unseen force that wakens Druse from his sentry slumber, just in time to spy the Confederate spy undetected.
Plot Summary
The story's main character is Carter Druse, a private who joined the Union Army in defiance of his Virginia heritage and family who live near where the fighting is about to commence. His father, though broken-hearted, tells Carter to follow his sense of duty and to not tell his dying mother. Because he grew up in the terrain, Druse is appointed sentinel on a high ridge overlooking a valley where his regiment is awaiting their surprise attack on the Confederates. He falls asleep, but is awakened by an angelic force just in time to witness a mysterious, statuesque horseman who has identified the Union regiments, but has not yet discovered Druse's position. Druse has his hand on his rifle ready to fire, they look into eachother's eyes before Druse, after hesitating, decides it is his duty to kill the Confederate horseman spy to protect the Union's position. One officer witnessed the falling horseman over the sheer cliff, appearing to fly, gives up his search for the body below, and decides not to report it to his superior. A sargeant who heard the shot interviews Druse, who confesses that the man he killed was his father.
Answer:
The story begins with a Union soldier named Carter Druse struggling to stay awake at his duty post. He knows that sleeping is a treasonous act; if the Confederacy becomes aware of the Union plan to ambush their camp, Druse's fellow soldiers will be in danger. As he lies at his post, Druse remembers the day that he told his father of his intentions to join the Union army and his father's disappointment that Carter did not choose the Confederacy. As his mother was on her death bed, Carter and his father decide not to tell her, but part respectfully.
The story begins with a Union soldier named Carter Druse struggling to stay awake at his duty post. He knows that sleeping is a treasonous act; if the Confederacy becomes aware of the Union plan to ambush their camp, Druse's fellow soldiers will be in danger. As he lies at his post, Druse remembers the day that he told his father of his intentions to join the Union army and his father's disappointment that Carter did not choose the Confederacy. As his mother was on her death bed, Carter and his father decide not to tell her, but part respectfully.Druse becomes alert when he sees a Confederate soldier in the distance. He is immediately taken aback by the artistic beauty of the image of the soldier in the distance. Druse draws his gun to shoot, but then 'the horseman turned his head and looked in the direction of his concealed foeman--seemed to look into his very face, into his eyes, into his brave, compassionate heart.' Druse falls ill and is unable to follow-through with killing this man. Then, remembering his duty, and realizing that the Confederate soldier must have seen some of his peers as they watered their horses, Druse fires his weapon.
The story begins with a Union soldier named Carter Druse struggling to stay awake at his duty post. He knows that sleeping is a treasonous act; if the Confederacy becomes aware of the Union plan to ambush their camp, Druse's fellow soldiers will be in danger. As he lies at his post, Druse remembers the day that he told his father of his intentions to join the Union army and his father's disappointment that Carter did not choose the Confederacy. As his mother was on her death bed, Carter and his father decide not to tell her, but part respectfully.Druse becomes alert when he sees a Confederate soldier in the distance. He is immediately taken aback by the artistic beauty of the image of the soldier in the distance. Druse draws his gun to shoot, but then 'the horseman turned his head and looked in the direction of his concealed foeman--seemed to look into his very face, into his eyes, into his brave, compassionate heart.' Druse falls ill and is unable to follow-through with killing this man. Then, remembering his duty, and realizing that the Confederate soldier must have seen some of his peers as they watered their horses, Druse fires his weapon.A Federal officer happens by in time to see the Confederate soldier and his horse falling off the cliff, which is so beautiful in the way that the horse appears to be flying, that he begins to wonder if he is 'the chosen scribe of some new Apocalypse.' Rattled, the officer returns to his commander and decides not to mention what he has seen.
The story begins with a Union soldier named Carter Druse struggling to stay awake at his duty post. He knows that sleeping is a treasonous act; if the Confederacy becomes aware of the Union plan to ambush their camp, Druse's fellow soldiers will be in danger. As he lies at his post, Druse remembers the day that he told his father of his intentions to join the Union army and his father's disappointment that Carter did not choose the Confederacy. As his mother was on her death bed, Carter and his father decide not to tell her, but part respectfully.Druse becomes alert when he sees a Confederate soldier in the distance. He is immediately taken aback by the artistic beauty of the image of the soldier in the distance. Druse draws his gun to shoot, but then 'the horseman turned his head and looked in the direction of his concealed foeman--seemed to look into his very face, into his eyes, into his brave, compassionate heart.' Druse falls ill and is unable to follow-through with killing this man. Then, remembering his duty, and realizing that the Confederate soldier must have seen some of his peers as they watered their horses, Druse fires his weapon.A Federal officer happens by in time to see the Confederate soldier and his horse falling off the cliff, which is so beautiful in the way that the horse appears to be flying, that he begins to wonder if he is 'the chosen scribe of some new Apocalypse.' Rattled, the officer returns to his commander and decides not to mention what he has seen.Druse's commanding officer hears the shot and asks for a report about what has happened. Druse explains that he shot at a horse in the distance. When asked if there was anyone on the horse, Druse admits that the Confederate soldier he shot was ironically his father.