An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce

“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’s short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” and the film version directed by Robert Enrico share some similarities but mostly the differences between the two works. Both the short story and film can be compared and contrasted in relation to the emotion, detail and perspective. One is at an advantage, reading the short story before seeing the film because the story gives a better idea of what is happening and who the protagonist really is. In other words, the short story helps in providing the reader with key details that are not mentioned in the film.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce, is the story of the hanging of a Civil War era Southern gentleman by the name of Peyton Farquhar. The story begins with an unidentified man being prepared to be hanged by a company of Union soldiers on a railroad bridge that runs over a river. He is then identified as Peyton Farquhar, a man who attempted to destroy the very bridge they are standing on based on information he was given by a Federal scout posing as a Confederate soldier. As he is dropped from the bridge to hang, the rope snaps and he falls into the river. After freeing himself and returning to the surface of the river, he realizes that his senses are all much

In the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Peyton Fahquhar is a thirty-five year civilian and planter. He had good features and from the outside, showed kindly expression. In saying this, one night while Fahquhar and his wife were sitting on a bench near the entrance to his house, a mysterious soldier rode up to the gate and asked for a drink of water. While Mrs. Fahquhar was getting the soldier his water, her husband approached the dusty horseman and inquired news eagerly from the front. The soldier tells Peyton, “The Yanks are repairing the railroads, and are getting ready for another advance.” There was a commandment posted everywhere saying “any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels, or trains will be summarily hanged.” Ambrose Bierce conveys suspense throughout the story using multiple literary techniques.

“The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce tells the story of a man being punished for a crime. While he is dying, he vividly imagines his escape, the one thing that urges him on is the thought of his family. “White Heron,” by Sarah Orne Jewett follows a girl named Sylvia who lives in a small country home with her grandmother. She has a simple life: walking with her cow and hanging out with the forest creatures. However, when a young hunter arrives on the scene with a very alluring offer, Sylvia is faced with a tough decision. The setting of the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, is in northern Alabama during the Civil War. The short story, “A White Heron”, takes place in New England during the summer on a farm. Throughout the short stories both Jewett and Bierce, describe the similar scenes a pond, a forest, and a faint sunlight.

Ambrose Bierce writes his story in three parts, each part describing a different event that is taking place, creating the intricate plot of the story. The first part, the introduction, places the reader in a thrilling and shocking scene, the death and possible murder of a man. The second part does not continue the story and instead is a character’s introduction and a flashback to when the man was told of a crime he later decided to commit. When the scout said “the commandant officer has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels or trains will be summarily hanged” (484), he warned Farquhar of his possible death before committing the crime, but still Farquhar decided to risk his life for his side in a war thus bringing to life the story we know. Finally, the third part--the longest--describes the events that should have taken place directly after the closure of part one. Farquhar is hanged and dreams of his escape in the few seconds he has before being snapped back into reality and to his death. By structuring the story in this sequence the author forces the reader to wait and continue reading to know whether Farquhar lives or dies, thus dragging on the already excruciating

How come an hour-long history class feels like it is five hours long? Every individual perceives the flow of time differently. Time perception refers to a person’s subjective experience of the passage of time, which can differ between individuals and for different circumstances. “In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the perception of time is major theme occurring in the novel. Ambrose Bierce demonstrates this perception of time by using literary devices. He uses imagery to illustrate the perception of time, along with a unique story structure to emphasize his point. Equally, he uses a third person point of view which portrays time perception, these devices come together to suggest that time can be perceived differently by individuals.

The American Civil War was the deadliest battle fought on American soil. An estimated 620,000 American soldiers died during this bloody conflict. Writers during this time were influenced by the gruesome times. One of these authors, Ambrose Bierce, was a naturalist who focused his writings on his life and his experiences with war. Most of his works and views were shaped by his career as a Union officer in the Civil War. Bierce was raised in poverty created an unsentimental outlook in his writing. The brutality he witnessed during the war cemented his cynicism. His writings explored themes of cruelty and death, earning himself the nickname “Bitter Bierce”. In one of his main works, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, Ambrose tells of a planter who is hanged for trying to destroy a bridge controlled by the Union Army. Throughout the story, glimpses of his military and war experiences appear. Bierce provides in-depth details about military weapons, rankings, and codes.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce makes you think between the differences of reality and dreaming. The way the two intertwine throughout the story makes for an excellent read and you must be able to identify what is real or just a dream. Since there are realistic and imagined events I am going to give a timeline of both and how they have become intertwined. Peyton Farquhar was a wealthy planter and slave owner, he supported the Confederacy but was not part of the army. His wife and he were sitting on the porch and a Confederate soldier comes up and tells Farquhar that the Union troops have repaired the railroad and that any civilian caught tampering with the railroad would be hanged.

In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Bierce shows the reader what the fear of death can do to a man’s psyche while allowing the reader to decide if what the protagonist has done is justified or not. Bierce does this through the narrator’s point of view, Bierce’s writing style, and the narrator’s tone. The narrator, being third person limited, knows what Peyton Farquhar thinks and how he feels; and therefore, is able to go into great detail about Farquhar's hanging. Which causes the reader to wonder why the narrator went through the trouble of going into so much detail about the imagined escape?

Reading and understanding literature is not as easy as it sounds. Being able to dissect each piece of information and connect it to the overall theme of the story takes lots of rereading and critical thinking. Reading the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” takes lots of critical thinking and understanding the literature in a different point of view than the average reader would. The theme of this particular story quickly came to mind after initially concluding the reading, the author is trying to convey that nobody can escape death and how thoughts in the mind are so substantial in the consciousness that it can take over the reality. The author comes to this theme by incorporating specific literary elements such a symbol, irony,

Romanticized stories are those that show an idyllic yet unrealistic view of reality. It’s the picturesque quality of romance that draws the reader in. One example of this is in An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. In An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, Bierce increases the impact of the story’s ending by romantically depicting Farquhar’s escape and following the romantic portrayal with a sudden snap back to reality.

In section two of ‘’An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” readers learn that various and vaguely noted circumstances in Peyton Farquhar’s

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a magnificent piece of literature written by Ambrose Bierce. Bierce used a shock effect to foreshadow the outcome of the short story. Additionally, he uses several literary techniques in his story of Peyton Fahrquhar and his imaginary escape from certain death. Bierce’s use of literary techniques creates a shock effect to foreshadow the outcome of the story.

(Anything in parentheses will be edited later) “The Resemblance of Time and Death” - Ambrose Bierce Time is important to us in several ways. We only have so long before it runs out, and when you spend time, you can’t get it back. Time always flows at the same pace, no matter what you think or feel.