TrishaWehrle

The Devil Went Down to Geogia

After reading and dicussing Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Decitionary, I had a lot of mixed feelings towards the work, and Bierce himself. Our discussion in class raised many questions as to whether Bierce was bashing people, particularly women just because he hated them, Was he just trying to be funny, or was it because he was trying to facilitate a change in the society that he was living in?

I think that it is forst very important for everyone to consider that The Devil's Dictionary was not published all at once in a singlular book, but was rather published a few at a time in a Newspaper. When you think about it this way, i feel that Bierce had more time to think about what words he wanted to use and and what definitions he wanted to put to them. As i found in this article, Bierce's "true love was satire" and he would use any form to do it. I think of his dictionary as being equivolent to a political cartoonist today. Even though political cartoonists may not feel a certain way towards a particular political group, they know the issues that are out there and they create pictures that will spark interest in the public.

I agree with Erin Manko that although Bierce seemed to target women negatively in his article, that is how society is and he was just making a point. Many people would say that he critiziced women and African Americans too harshly. One of the definitions that actually made me cringe was that of an African (AFFRICAN, n. A nigger that votes our way.). I think that this definition is far worse than any definition aimed at women. Although Melissa Hagg points out very nicely that Beirce may have had bad experiences with women in his life, I would have to disagree with her that he picks on women more than any other group.

As pointed out by Paul Crossman, Aborigines is another interesting definition to look at.
ABORIGINIES, n.
Persons of little worth found cumbering the soil of a newly discovered country. They soon cease to cumber; they fertilize.
I feel that Beirce wanted to make people aware in a very blunt way, almost like a slap in the face, as to how cruel the American Society is. If he did not make the definitions to blunt and harsh, it would not have made such an enormous impact and would not be as talked about. Lastly, I think it is important to note that Bierce did not approve of the first title of his work, The Cynics Wordbook. Five years later, he changed the name to The Devil's Dictionary. I think that Bierce wanted people to know that these were not his (the cynics) words, but were the words of the devil. He was criticizing society and wanted change.