The Humble Peasant by Ambrose Bierce
The Humble Peasant is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce in 1890. It tells the tale of a poor peasant who lives in a small village and works as a laborer on a farm. Despite his humble circumstances, the peasant is content with his life and finds joy in simple pleasures such as watching the sunset and listening to birds sing. However, when a wealthy landowner offers him a large sum of money to leave the village, the peasant must confront his own desires and values. Will he choose happiness or wealth?
By Ambrose Bierce · First published 1896 · Genre: Historical Fiction, Drama, Social Commentary · 231 words
First lines
An Office Seeker whom the President had ordered out of Washington was watering the homeward highway with his tears.
"Ah," he said, "how disastrous is ambition! how unsatisfying its rewards!
how terrible its disappointments. Behold yonder peasant tilling his field in peace and contentment. He rises with the lark, passes the day in wholesome toil, and lies down at night to pleasant dreams. In the mad struggle for place and power he has no part; the roar of the strife reaches his ear like the distant murmur of the ocean. Happy, thrice happy man. I will approach him and bask in the sunshine of his humble felicity. Peasant, all hail!"
What this Textopian page supports
The Humble Peasant is listed on Textopian as a fable by Ambrose Bierce, dated 1896 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Ambrose Bierce
- Date: 1896 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Fiction, Drama, Social Commentary, CMemoir
- Length: 231 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Humble Peasant by Ambrose Bierce
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Humble Peasant?
- How does this fable by Ambrose Bierce fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Historical Fiction first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- The Disinterested Arbiter by Ambrose Bierce
- Ladies Must Live by Alice Duer Miller
- Tracked To Doom Or The Mystery Of The Rue De Peychaud by O. Henry
- The Plutonian Fire by O. Henry
- Unknown Title by O. Henry
- The Shamrock And The Palm by O. Henry
Genres
- Historical Fiction — The title implies a story set in a time period when peasants were common, often historical moments.
- Drama — The humble archetype and the reference to a social class suggest a potentially dramatic narrative.
- Social Commentary — The use of 'peasant' indicates a potential focus on social structures.
- CMemoir — If focusing on the life of an individual peasant, this could also fall under a more personal narrative or memoir-style genre.
Tags
Fiction · Short Story · Historical Fiction · Literary Fiction · Classic Literature · American Literature · Realism · Social Commentary · Satire · Irony · Mystery · Detective Fiction