An Episode of War (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stephen Crane
- First Published: 1899
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: 1864
- Setting: A Civil War battlefield
- Principal Characters: The lieutenant, The doctor
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction, War fiction
- Subjects: Nineteenth century, Manners or customs, Civil War, War, Adventure, Life, philosophy of, Life and death, Wounds or injuries, Tents
- Locales: United States
The Story
An army lieutenant concentrates on rationing out his company's supply of coffee, meticulously dividing the brown squares before him, when a shot rings out. The enlisted men, startled by the noise, suddenly see blood saturating their lieutenant's sleeve. In pain, the wounded officer sways, winces in disbelief, mutely surveys the forest, and tries instinctively and clumsily to sheathe the sword that he has been using to count out the coffee packets. His mind swirls with mysterious revelations about existence and the meaning of life. As his dumbstruck, sympathetic troops...
[The entire page is 1169 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
