The violence in Babel's short stories is very abrupt and takes the reader aback. The violence comes at unsuspecting times, often causing a horror by the surprise of it. "Red Cavalry" is the most shocking of the short stories as the narrator finds "An old man is lying there on his back, dead. His gullet has been ripped out, his face hacked in two, and dark blood is clinging to his beard like a lump of lead"(40). The violence comes as a shock to the reader, causing a further sense of disgust.