The Bulwark

By Theodore Dreiser

by Simon Webb 25th October 2024

Two boys are wandering in the forest. One of them, Solon Barnes, uses his catapult to kill a small bird. His companion tells him that, now that their mother is dead, her chicks will have to be killed too, to save them from starving to death. The second boy takes the nest and the dead bird home, to feed to his pet cat. Barnes, raised a Quaker, goes home alone, weighed down with unbearable remorse.