Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” leads readers to query Ambrose Bierce about the numerous point of view shifts his story takes. Ambrose Bierce’s descriptive writing style grasps the reader’s attention, unknowingly manipulating the reader throughout the entire story. This statement holds to be true as the story line develops. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has a variety of ups and downs throughout the story, changing the direction and perspective through its point of view of omniscient and limited omniscient. Ambrose Bierce’s various shifts deceive readers into believing the protagonist, Peyton Farquhar, has escaped a perilous fate.

Ambrose Bierce uses suspense when writing the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat and allows Bierce to control the mood and tempo of the story. The story happens on a bridge where a man is being hanged by the union army. The details of the hanging are explained in part one. In part two it is explained who the main character is Peyton Farquhar and how he was tricked into attempting to burn down a bridge. After that in part three it shows the events preceding the death of Farquhar and the exaggerated images that follow until it is exclaimed in the end of the story that Farquhar has died. and Bierce uses multiple methods to create suspense, including the story structure, plot details, and imagery.

Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” are both examples of Naturalistic writing. Both stories end with a man dying violently, though death seems to be avoidable in both cases to demonstrate Naturalism, and the idea of survival of the fittest through writing. Though Peyton Farquhar, and the Swede have free will their free will can be dangerous to themselves especially when not paired with rational thought. The human condition is one of misery, either in life or death, and the world is indifferent to humans and their lives.

One way in which An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is an example of literary realism, thus supporting Becker’s and Pizer’s definitions of realism, is through its abundance of verisimilitude of detail. The narrator attempts to thrust the reader into the shoes of the subject, James Farquhar, by using descriptive terms that are very realistic in nature. The story’s opening scene takes place on Owl Creek Bridge, a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, with Peyton Farquhar being hanged. Ambrose Bierce, the author, uses many seemingly unimportant details in the opening scene and throughout the story in a great attempt to make the reader feel as though he is there himself. One such example is when Bierce describes the actual platform on which Farquhar is standing. He writes, “Some loose boards laid upon the sleepers supporting the metals of the railway supplied a footing for him and his executioners” (Bierce 1476). This is seemingly unimportant, but after reading the story in its entirety, I realized that it was intentionally written in this manner

“There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.” This is a quote from George R.R. Martin, an American novelist and short story writer. This quote captures the concept that Ambrose Bierce presents in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. Throughout this story, it is clear that Bierce is not keen on war. Bierce is not keen on war and believes it strips the humanity out of people.

The title plays an important role in catching the reader’s attention. If the title is interesting or compelling enough, one will be motivated to read it; otherwise, the story may never be read, resulting in a loss to both the author and the reader. In Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the author grabs the reader’s attention with a “creepy” title, indicating a bad happening on the Owl Creek Bridge. Peyton Farquhar, a planter who supports the Southern cause during the Civil War, is on the brink of execution by hanging. The title sets the eerie tone of the story, which appears to be about a hanging, and the setting, which appears to be a bridge.

In “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, the story of a man by the name of Peyton Farquhar whose unlawful actions landed him in a heap of trouble is told. The story is split into three sections which goes back in forth between the past, the present and Farquhar’s falsation of both. By taking the approach of using symbols throughout the story, Bierce gave the opportunity for the reader to feel like they are apart of the story as well as leaving them with a shocker in the very end. Since the story goes back in forth between reality and illusion, the reader may get a bit confused while reading but you get

In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, Bierce starts her short story on the edge with Peyton Farquhar, a 35 year old planter from the south, standing on Owl Creek Bridge with his hands tied behind his back and a noose around his neck. There are soldiers from the north surrounding him. Two soldiers, one on each side of him, take away the plank in which he is standing on. Falling to the water, Farquhar focuses his last thoughts on his family, while also having hopes of freeing his hands and diving into the water below.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, directed by Robert Enrico, depicts an occurrence in the mind of Peyton Farquhar. He is a civilian who tampers with the Union’s railroad system and is going to be hanged, and all he can think about is escaping and getting home to his wife. Unfortunately, death is a reality and no one can escape it.

Ambrose Bierce led a relatively full but tragic life. After losing his sons Day and Leigh to suicide and alcoholism respectively, his wife left him for another man (“Ambrose Bierce”). His struggles with death and the inequity of life are evident throughout his literary works. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” illustrates many of the power struggles that Bierce was fighting throughout much of his life.

Bierce plays a mind game with the reader that explores an impossible reality. Although it is not conceivable to be inside someone's head to experience his or her thoughts, Bierce's narrator does a commendable job of creating a fictional, yet believable example of this impossibility. Bierce's method allows the reader to become deeply intimate with the details of the profound occurrence of Farquhar's death. He creates a

Bierce states in the text “The man's hands were behind his back, the wrists tied with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck.” This line helps to create suspense in the story by describing that the man is in a sticky situation. Another line from the story is “ He opened his eyes in the darkness and saw above him a gleam of light, but how

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Book Review Ambrose Bierce was the tenth born child of thirteen. Born in Meigs County, Ohio, he briefly attended a Kentucky Military Institute. Bierce’s experiences fighting in the Civil War has served as an influence on his writing. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is Bierce’s most popular work. The story leaves critics with mixed reactions.

I most enjoyed reading "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". Ambrose Bierce’s style captures the attention of the reader from the opening lines and holds it until the end. Bierce presents the story in a way that has the reader truly believing that the fugitive has escaped only to pull them back to reality in the end. The vivid description of the sights and sounds the main character is experiencing made me feel like I was present at the bridge. Furthermore, the attempt of the author to capture the thoughts that might go one’s mind before they die was especially well done. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was enjoyable for me to read as it has a suspenseful tone as well as a realistic one.

The Tell- Tale Heart and The Black Cat are two horrendous accounts of murder. These two works put readers inside the mind of a madman. Although the narrators are shockingly similar, a few distinct details