Question

Read this excerpt from “A Horseman in the Sky” by Ambrose Bierce. Which sentence or phrase in the passage reveals how the father feels about his son’s decision to join the Union army?

"Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty. Virginia, to which you are a traitor, must get on without you. Should we both live to the end of the war, we will speak further of the matter. Your mother, as the physician has informed you, is in a most critical condition; at the best she cannot be with us longer than a few weeks, but that time is precious. It would be better not to disturb her.”
So Carter Druse, bowing reverently to his father, who returned the salute with a stately courtesy that masked a breaking heart, left the home of his childhood to go soldiering. By conscience and courage, by deeds of devotion and daring, he soon commended himself to his fellows and his officers; and it was to these qualities and to some knowledge of the country that he owed his selection for his present perilous duty at the extreme outpost.


option A. "Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty. Virginia, to which you are a traitor, must get on without you.


option B. Your mother, as the physician has informed you, is in a most critical condition; at the best she cannot be with us longer than a few weeks, but that time is precious. It would be better not to disturb her.”


option C. So Carter Druse, bowing reverently to his father, who returned the salute with a stately courtesy that masked a breaking heart, left the home of his childhood to go soldiering.


option D. it was to these qualities and to some knowledge of the country that he owed his selection for his present perilous duty at the extreme outpost.

Answer 1

I believe it would be option A, it states that his father believes that he is a traitor and his tone and language suggests anger and resentment at the fact that his son is joining

Answer 2

"A Horseman in the Sky" is a short story that was written by Civil War ex soldier and survivor Ambrose Bierce and it was published in 1889. The story narrates the experiences and life of Carter Druse, a young man from Virginia who, despite his father´s opposition, decides to join the Union Army and fight against the Confederation in the Civil War. In essence, this story reveals not just the difficulties of this war, but also its devastating effects on the people and families who lived through it. At the hart of the story lies a particular experience, from which the title derives, in which a young soldier sees a man on a Confederate horse, standing on a ledge, and he shoots the horse because he does not feel morally prepared to kill the man. As this happens, another soldier is standing below the ledge and he sees as if the horse and man were flying through the sky and he is so shocked that when he returns he cannot explain the situation very well. In this particular excerpt of the story, when Carter has informed his father of his decision to leave, his father tries to disuade his son by giving him a piece of his mind on the matter, and especially, by trying to use guilt as a disuading technique. This can be better seen in the first few lines of the excerpt, so the correct answer would be A: "Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty. Virginia, to which you are a traitor, must get on without you."