Job #3 Literature Connections

   The short stories of Washington Irving and those of Ambrose Bierce have some similar traits, but overall, they are very different. Both men wrote of their homeland, both wrote tragedy into their stories. Yet somehow the end results have such a different feel to them. Irving often set his works in cozy, ultimately happy setting with some comedic tragedy befalling his characters. His works do not  have Deus ex machina endings, but they do tend to end on a much lighter note than Bierce's stories do. Bierce firmly grounds his stories in his grim view of reality. No trimmings or fairy tales from him. His characters start out in the misfortunes of realism, make their gallant effort at bettering themselves in some way and settle down to the hard learned lesson that life does not have happy endings. 

   The time periods and popular genre that surrounded these authors seems to have contributed greatly to their works. Irving's career took place while America was young. New things were being discovered, nations being formed, possibilities were endless. I think Irving's works show this fantastical, romantic element. His stories incorporate magic, legend, and mystical creatures; and the simple idea that anything can happen. Bierce, however, lived and fought during the Civil War, and his works reflect the disheartened nation that was getting a shocking awakening to the realities of war. Bierce's works show the bleak view of life that pervaded a war torn country. His works are so sardonically realistic, and altogether without hope or excitement for the unknown. His works are ultimately cold hard realism swirled in with disheartening uncertainty. In my opinion, both authors were strongly influenced by their time periods.