The Moonlit Road

1. Caspar Grattan

1.1. Who is Caspar Grattan?

1.2. Joel Hetman?

1.3. What does 767 mean?

1.4. Statements don't match up.

1.4.1. Mystery man: for wife or servant?

1.4.2. 4.D- Right off the bat, Mr. Grattan does not come off as a reliable p.o.v. for readers. He speaks of losing his memory when he says, "This is only a record of broken and apparently unrelated memories...having the character of crimson dreams with interspaces blank and black." Here it seems that has swaying on the very thin line between sanity and insanity, clearly favoring one side. This causes readers to question story detail told by him due to his potentially mentally unstable state.

1.5. 5.D- When explaining what he's seen, Grattan exclaims, "...I catch the gleam of white garments; then the figure of a woman confronts me....There is death in the face; there are marks upon the throat." This use of imagery can stand to represent many things. For starters, the reappearing description of the the late Mrs. Hetman works to elicits a reaction from the person encountering her which just so happens to be Mr. Hetman. Not only is he seeing her just the way she died, but she's also wearing all white garments which stand as a possible symbol. As many know, white represents purity and so can mean that Mrs. Hetman was innocent after all.

2. Julia Hetman

2.1. Infedility?

2.1.1. 1.D- The relationship between Mr. & Mrs. Hetman is quite an unusual case. In the story, Mr. Hetman questions the loyalty of his wife when it says, "...it occurred to me to test my wife's fidelity..." which indicates that there's is a problem going on between both people, but Mrs. Hetman view would suggest the opposite. In her testimony, she speaks of her husband being able to see her ghost form and comments on it saying, "Love had conquered Law." Furthermore, Mr. Hetman's reaction to this event was filled with fear which begs the question, "Was he fearful because he's seeing the ghost of his wife or the ghost of his victim?"

2.1.2. Who's the mystery man?

2.2. Why so fearful?

2.3. 2.C- Although Julia Hetman appears to be familiar with the house she lives in, she still obtains a level of discomfort with what's going on around her which foreshadows a terrible event that is to come. Knowing the ins and outs of the house allows her to make inferences about other characters involved with present a new perspective and details for readers. For example, the text reads, "...I must've left the hall lamp burning and the groping of this creature proved it to be a monster on the night." This gives information on other characters in the story.

3. 3.A & 3.B- The entire plot of this story revolves around the investigation of a murder. Naturally Bierce formats it in a way that readers feel as if they are witnessing an actual investigation. By having testimonies lined up and not intermingle with each other, it adds to the way readers perceive the information. In addition to that, The order of events and testimonies are strategically placed where the story almost feels like it's increasingly becoming more truthful and reliable. For example, we are first introduced to a character who know little about what actually has happened and so is unable to give much information, then comes a character who was actually involved but seems to be swaying mentally so reliability is also increased a portion, and lastly we have the victim who can recall events exactly as they were so readers increasingly gain more truth and details.

4. The House

4.1. 2.B- The function of the setting in this case is to set the tone for the story. Characters are said to be walking a road at night with the moon acting as the source to show their path. This gives a gloomy feel especially considering the genre of the story. In addition to this, the house itself is repeatedly said to be full of darkness adding to the spooky feel. Examples can be seen in the following, "...the black darkness" and "...evaded me into the darkness of the hall."

4.2. 5.C In "The Moonlit Road," the darkness of the setting is constantly mentioned which may add to the tone and development of events, but also stands a symbol for the meaning of the story. Darkness hinders sight in not only a literal, but metaphorical sense as well. Especially in the case of Caspar Grattan, we can see how darkness stands to show how people can be blind to their own actions. Whether it's jealousy or mental instability, Caspar Grattan experiences loss of memory and symptoms of insanity which appear to cloud his judgment ad lead him to carry out harmful actions. Not only is he walking in darkness, but his mind is living in it as well.

5. Joel Hetman Jr.

5.1. 1.B- Joel remains an unchanged character who presents an outside perspective on the situation. Unlike his father and the mysterious man, Joel Jr. appears to have no involvement in the murder of his mother so readers are allowed to analyze his actions and thoughts as more reliable.