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The protagonist of the story, Carter Druse is a private in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Carter Although he fights for the Union, Druse was raised in Virginia, a Confederate State. He was born to a life of privilege and refinement, which he willingly gave up to follow his conscience regarding the Civil War, and joined a Union Regiment. This creates a tension between him and his father, for although they both respect each other, they now find themselves fighting for opposing armies and ideals. Druse is frequently described as noble and courageous. After leaving the home of his childhood, he earns the commendation of his comrades and superiors through his bravery and strength of character. Druse spends the entirety of the story (aside from the flashback to the morning that he left his family home) lying in a thicket, posted as a sentry to guard several Union Regiments in a precarious position. His respect for his father and sense justice and morality come to a head when Druse’s father, who is doing reconnaissance for the opposing Confederate army, discovers the Union regiments that Druse is supposed to be protecting. Druse is forced to make a decision between upholding his duty as a soldier (by killing his father) or letting his father live, thus failing in his duty and risking the lives of his fellow men. Druse chooses to kill his father, and in doing so he is becoming his own man. Killing the horseman signals the end of one generation of Druse’s family also marks the end of an era of slavery.
Carter Druse Quotes in A Horseman in the Sky
The A Horseman in the Sky quotes below are all either spoken by Carter Druse or refer to Carter Druse . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
He was asleep at his post of duty. But if detected he would be dead shortly afterward, death being the just and legal penalty of his crime.
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In the opening of the story, Druse is asleep at his post, a crime for which he could be executed. Bierce initially casts Druse as the criminal, only to contradict himself later on as he paints Druse as a noble and courageous man. For the entire remainder of the story, Druse is praised for his character and depicted as a great benefit to his fellow soldiers, and yet he should have been executed for dozing off. Bierce uses this in two ways: the first and most obvious is to point to the inherent absurdity of military hierarchy. To execute such Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. M
No country is so wild and difficult but men will make it a theatre of war; concealed in the forest at the bottom of that military rat-trap, in which half a hundred men in possession of the exits might have starved an army to submission, lay five regiments of Federal infantry … In case of failure, their position would be perilous in the extreme; and fail they surely would should accident or vigilance apprise the enemy of the movement.
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In the first few paragraphs of the story, Bierce establishes the circumstances and stakes of the conflict soon to arise. Bierce specifically uses the topography of the scene to create an encounter between Carter Druse and the horseman, his father, with only two possible outcomes: either Druse will do his duty and kill his father to protect his fellow soldiers and advance his cause in the war, or he will allow him to escape, spelling certain doom for his comrades and handing a major victory to the enemy. Bierce effectively creates a moral problem in the mind of the audience Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliq
Part 2 Quotes
The sleeping sentinel in the clump of laurel was a young Virginian named Carter Druse. He was the son of wealthy parents, an only child, and had known such ease and cultivation and high living as wealth and taste were able to command in the mountain country of western Virginia. His home was but a few miles from where he now lay.
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In this passage, Bierce cuts away from the scene upon the cliff to identify the sleeping soldier as Carter Druse. The significance of Druse being the son of wealthy Virginians is twofold. As a Virginian, Druse should have fought in the Confederate forces, had he chosen to align with his homeland. Had he done so, with parents such as his (readers later learn that his father is a Confederate officer) it is doubtful that he would have been enlisted as a private. By joining the Union for the sake of his principles, Druse not only betrayed his childhood home, but Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam of
“Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty.”
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Druse’s father gave this admonition on the morning that Druse left to join the Union army. This statement not only conveys Druse’s father’s concept of duty, which he has instilled in his son, it also becomes the refrain that ultimately helps Druse to decide he must kill his father. Before he pulls the trigger, his father’s words echo in his memory like a “divine mandate” and give him the assurance that although what he is doing is horrific, it must be done. By killing his father, Druse also obeyed his last and final command to him. Though ending his life, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiore
The duty of the soldier was plain: the man must be shot dead from ambush—without warning, without a moment’s spiritual preparation, with never so much as an unspoken prayer, he must be sent to his account.
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Although the first-time reader of the story does not yet know that the horseman is Druse’s father, Druse himself does. Moments before Druse takes his shot, he reflects on the penultimate tragedy of the situation. When he left his father in Virginia to go soldiering with the opposing army, he must have known that it was possible he and his father might someday fight. This was a painful reality, but a necessary one for Druse to accept. However, to shoot his father in ambush is another matter. Druse mourns the suddenness of it all; his father will have no warning Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a
Druse withdrew his eyes from the valley and fixed them again upon the group of man and horse in the sky, and again it was through the sights of his rifle. But this time his aim was at the horse … Duty had conquered; the spirit said to the body: “Peace, be still.” He fired.
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Carter Druse, upon learning that the horseman is his own father, falters for only a moment. Remembering the admonition of his father to do his duty above all else and at any cost, he resolves to shoot him down. Even with this decision, however, Druse shifts the aim of his rifle from the horseman to the horse, who is standing on the cliff’s edge. Rather than kill his father by his own bullet, he elects to let the fall kill him instead. In this manner, Druse removes himself, by a small degree, from the killing. By letting gravity and fate Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaqu
Part 4 Quotes
“Did you fire?” the sergeant whispered.
“Yes.”
“At what?”
“A horse. It was standing on yonder rock—pretty far out. You see it is no longer there. It went over the cliff.”
The man’s face was white, but he showed no other sign of emotion. Having answered, he turned his eyes away and said no more. The sergeant did not understand.
“See here, Druse,” he said after a moment’s silence, it’s no use making a mystery. I order you to report. Was there anybody on the horse?”
“Yes.”
“Well?”
“My father.”
The sergeant rose to his feet and walked away. “Good God!” he said.
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This is the final moment of the final scene of the story. Bierce has concealed the fact that the horseman is Druse’s father until the last possible moment, although Druse himself knew. With the realization that Druse’s crisis of duty and morality has also been the pain of killing his only surviving family member, the entire story takes on a far darker and more cynical tone and straddles the territory of American Gothic, which Bierce was fond of exploring. Druse’s behavior in the aftermath is also interesting; his white face implies that he is internally torn, but he is also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Opt
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Carter Druse Character Timeline in A Horseman in the Sky
The timeline below shows where the character Carter Druse appears in A Horseman in the Sky. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
On an autumn afternoon in 1861, next to a small road in western Virginia, a young soldier is asleep in a bush. He is lying flat on his stomach, stretched out, with...
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The bush that the soldier is concealed in sits next to a road that leads downward into a forested valley....
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Part 2
The sleeping soldier is revealed to be Carter Druse. Druse is the only son of wealthy Virginians whose childhood was the definition of privilege...
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The narrator recalls the moment in which Druse announced that he would be fighting for the Union: he stood from breakfast table and...
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Druse’s father solemnly replied, “Well, go, sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to...
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Druse leaves his parents’ home to become a soldier. By his bravery and strength of character...
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Even so, exhaustion overcame willpower and Druse fell asleep. Now, though neither sound nor touch has disturbed him, Druse awakes and takes...
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Druse spies a figure standing against the cliff’s edge, a horse and rider. The rider’s face...
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The horse moves very slightly and brings Druse back to the reality of the situation. Druse knows that he must kill the horseman...
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The horseman turns his head so that Druse can see his face, though the horseman cannot see Druse. Though Druse knows he is...
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Druse regains his composure, sure that he must kill the horseman. He knows that he cannot...
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Part 4
Carter Druse, having taken his shot, reloads and carries on his sentry duty, never having gotten up...
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