Can Such Things Be? · Chapter
A Tough Tussle explained
Lieutenant Byring, a Federal officer on picket duty, experiences a profound psychological crisis as night, solitude, and the presence of a dead body overwhelm his senses.
What happens
Lieutenant Byring, a Federal officer on picket duty, experiences a profound psychological crisis as night, solitude, and the presence of a dead body overwhelm his senses. He descends into terror, hallucinating movement from the corpse, until a sudden skirmish breaks the spell. The next morning, Byring is found dead alongside a Confederate soldier, having apparently killed each other in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, though the circumstances are mysterious.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the narrato…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Isolation and Terror
Byring's profound fear in the solitary night, amplified by the dead body and his own psychological unraveling.
- Death and the Supernatural
The dead body appears to move, and Byring grapples with a sense of the supernatural despite his disbelief.
- Violence and Mortality
The brutal deaths of both soldiers, the sword thrust, and the maggot-infested corpse underscore mortality.
Characters to notice
- Brainerd Byring
Federal lieutenant on picket duty who succumbs to terror and is later found dead with a Confederate soldier.
- Captain
Federal officer who discovers Byring's body and remarks on the tough tussle.
- Surgeon
Accompanying the fatigue party, examines the bodies and notes the lack of blood on the Confederate corpse.
Key passages
“He could no longer conceal from himself the horrible fact of his cowardice; he was thoroughly frightened!”
Byring finally admitted his own terror, unable to deny his cowardice any longer.
Byring's internal realization of his fear.
“The dead do not wish to be moved—it protested with a faint, sickening odor.”
The corpse emitted a foul smell when disturbed, as if objecting to being moved.
The surgeon's discovery of the decaying body.
“They had a tough tussle.”
The captain commented on the fierce struggle between Byring and the Confederate soldier.
Captain's remark upon finding the bodies.
