Mood

The mood I came up with for this story was dark and dry, but it was not boring. The story lacked emotion, but it had a lot of imagery and even some form of personification. The beginning of the story was very descriptive, it lacked literary elements AND rhetorical devices. Whenever Farquhar begins to daydream the story blossoms into imagery such as "dancing driftwood" and "water touched
by gold." During the entirety of the story, any form of nature is very colorful. Farquhar's fear and pain is also highly colorful. There is no other emotion other than fear that is focused on. Farquhar's lack of emotion makes the feeling of the story dark.

Bierco also added elements of personification. "Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect." She refers to death as a person, or greater being. I think its interesting that she only refers to death as a greater being and not nature or anything else. Death is obviously a very dark aspect of life to personify. To me it seems like death is being used to foreshadow the ending of the story. Farquhar is sentenced to death and takes it respectfully, although he wishes for a different outcome.