Causes Of Death In A. B Guthrie's 'Bargain'

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In the story “Bargain”, by A. B. Guthrie, the question of who caused the death of the sly Slade, is one that could be greatly debated and fought over. First off, Slade might have been responsible for his own ill-fated death. Slade was a man that adored drinking alcoholic beverages. Towards the end of the story, Al finds Slade dead, he informed Mr. Baumer of the catastrophic incident that happened while Slade was transporting goods for the man. The story later went that either Slade froze to death, considering the harsh temperatures, or that he drank the poisonous wood alcohol that was found in the back the wagon he was using. In the text, it states, "One afternoon, when I lit out from class, the thermometer on the school porch read forty-two …show more content…

Baumer. Mr. Baumer in the first place didn’t favor Slade, at all. This is due to Slade usually stealing from Mr. Baumer, he would always treat himself to his bosses goods along the way. Also, maybe Mr. Baumer yearned to get back at Slade after he injured him. In the story it states, “That Slade. He steal whiskey and call it evaporation. He sneak things from his load. A thief, he is. And too big for me. (372) “From behind us, Dr. King said, “I think you’ve broken this man's hand.” “Lucky for him I didn’t kill him,” Slade answered. (374) “Told me this morning to go out and locate him if I could and bring him in...like Baumer had told me to, and there was a quart of whiskey right there in the store for him if he’d come and get it.” (375) Mr. Baumer was having many problems with Slade, I believe that Baumer wanted Slade to have a taste of his own medicine, and use Slade’s disadvantages against him. Mr. Bauner himself said that Slade was too much for him to handle, also why else would Bauner ask Slade to come back and work for him, denying the fact that Slade would most likely steal liquor from him. All in all, there are two sides to the death of Slade. The different sides of the story are that Slade might have caused his own death, or Mr. Baumer caused his death. After reading this short story and analyzing the case, I have come to a conclusion that Mr. Baumer most likely caused the death of his foe,

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