Chickamauga Themes

In “Chickamauga,” a six-year old, deaf-mute child wanders into the forest to play at war. He gets lost, falls asleep, and then wakes up to find himself in the awful aftermath of a Civil War battle. However, through most of the story, the boy doesn’t understand the horrors he is witnessing. Instead, he delights in the spectacle, even pretending to be the maimed soldiers’ leader. The juxtaposition between the way the uncomprehending boy perceives…

“Chickamauga” is set during the Civil War, and shows the aftermath of the battle of Chickamauga through the eyes of a deaf, mute, six-year old Southern white child (who doesn’t really understand what he is seeing). The story, to put it shortly, is about war. But while the most obvious war it portrays is that between men, the story also subtly describes a different war—a battle between man and nature. The story portrays humanity—the boy…