These three elements can be helpfully combined to focus on
the way that life is viewed against a backdrop of war. Putting aside the major theme of
Peyton Farquhar's flight of fantasy that allows him to "escape" from his hanging in his
mind, the text presents human life as being infinitely expendable. The way in which the
text begins, and the bussiness-like nature of the soldiers as they prepare Peyton
Farquhar for hanging, seems to suggest that what they are doing is viewed as being just
another part of their job. The Civil War which forms the backdrop of this narrative has
the result of lessening the value of human life, so that men are hung as a matter of
course and it is not considered strange or wrong. Note the way in which the soldiers are
described:
Excepting the group of four at the centre of the
bridge, not a man moved. The company faced the bridge, staring stonily, motionless. The
sentinels, facing the banks of the stream, might have been statues to adorn the bridge.
The captain stood with folded arms, silent, observing the work of his subordinate, but
mking no sign. Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with
formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with
him.
Death, therefore, is a
common feature of war, and is inextricably intertwined with the cheapness of human life
that comes in times of war. The death of Peyton Farquhar, in this respect, is nothing
special, just another "casualty of war" that occurs in order to try and secure
victory.
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