Death Imagery
Death is a recurring image in the text, as The Old Gringo is set during the Civil War. Bierce first travels to Mexico as he hopes to fight for the revolution and to die honorably. As such, death is something that does not bother him. Through the rest of the text, we examples of death, from the death of Harriet's father to the final death of the old gringo himself. One example of death imagery is Harriet's father's grave, which is a grim reminder of the inevitability of death, especially for those involved in warfare.
Cultural differences
The imagery of culture, borders, and the difference between cultures is seen repeatedly in the text. The Mexican/American border is focused on and becomes a metaphor for transformation, identity, and meaning for several characters. For the old gringo, Mexico represents a place where he can die fighting for something he believes in, and for Harriet, Mexico represents a place of adventure. These expectations of Mexico are intertwined in cultural ideas about Mexico being "uncorrupted," hence the high hopes for revolution.
