An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

I chose this source from the National Archives due to its relevance to the era in which “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, by Ambrose Bierce was written. This document stresses the life of Confederate citizens in relation to contact with Federal soldiers. It includes information about citizens loyal to the Confederate flag spying, violating military orders, citizens moving through military installations, citizens not surrendering to the Union, and citizens committing sabotage to Federal arms. Citizens also provided business firms and services to assist the Confederate war effort, even after being seized by Federal arms. Civilian businesses even northward provided Confederate espionage, deceit, and the hiding of Confederate guerilla forces.

Ambrose Bierce is the author of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” he wrote this short story to inform his readers on how terrible war is but to also put them in Fahrquhar mind. Peyton Fahrquhar was caught tampering with a bridge and was sent to be hanged. Bierce has used imagery to help the readers imagine what fahrquhar is really experiencing. The author applied imagery in many ways but some more than other he said he was standing on the bridge looking down and a pieced of drift wood floats by he had said before the current of the water was moving fast but the way he explained the wood it was floating slow this could resemble time slowing down for him.

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.

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.

To understand what happens at the point of death is impossible unless to be experienced. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is set during the civil war during a northern advancement of the south. It opens at end of Peyton Farquhar’s life just before he will be hung for intruding on Union soldiers bridge of burn it. The story introduces the stages of death as a person would go through them.

Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, which is a short story released in 1890, gained much popularity over the years. It is most famous for it’s manipulation of time. Though the events in the book only take seconds, the story is over eight pages long. Time seems to slow for the man in the noose and at the same time speed up for the reader. In this way, Bierce presents his manipulation of time in the story.

“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,” illustrates a theme of illusion versus reality distorted by the human mind. In the story, a man named Peyton Farquhar is about to be hanged on a railroad bridge towards the end of the American Civil War. Farquhar, a Confederate citizen eager to help the Confederate States of America’s cause, ventures out towards Owl Creek Bridge at the advice of a Union scout in disguise. Unbeknownst to Farquhar, Union troops captured the bridge and surrounding territory, and upon capturing Farquhar, elect to hang him on charges of being a Confederate spy and sympathizer. As he is being hanged, however, Farquhar is able to escape his fate by falling into the river below. He manages to return back to his home, only to find out the entire experience of escape was an illusion created by his own imagination. The story concludes with the revelation that he actually died on the railroad bridge. Farquhar’s mind was able to create a whole new reality for himself. This reality was vivid, and it seems real to the reader until the very end of the story. The hallucination also spanned hours, yet in reality time passed for only a few seconds. Ambrose Bierce’s story demonstrates the impeccable powers of the human mind and its ability to distort time and reality for itself.

Throughout the passage “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, the author, Ambrose Bierce, makes it evident that he believes that war is an unnatural and unnecessary aspect of human life. Through the use of several literary tactics, the author creates a message that supports his viewpoint. By writing a story regarding the death of a civilian, Bierce is able to elaborate on his belief that even the civilians are unintentionally harmed by the recklessness of war.

Beginning in 1891, Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has astonished audiences with its wide ability to daze and amaze readers in such a short amount of time. The event of Peyton Farquhar being hanged by the opposing Union Army quickly turns into an action-packed escape attempt while being mislead by Bierce's literary tools. In the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the author Ambrose Bierce utilizes situational and dramatic irony, an untrustworthy narrator, and shifting points of view to prove that the mind can be easily manipulated and create its own realities to escape others.

4.5 out of 5 pages for a starting value of 90. " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ''earned a nomination as the best short story for this week's reading. " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' is a very interesting story and almost feels like an action movie. The main character, Peyton Farquhar, a civilian who is also a wealthy planter and slave owner, is being prepared for execution by hanging from an Alabama railroad bridge during the American Civil War, also known as the Southern cause. The Southern cause was when the Southern states wanted to assert their authority over the federal government, so they could abolish federal laws they did not support, specifically laws interfering with the South's right to keep slaves and take them wherever

The story that I chose to write about his week is “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

The temporal setting “oppress the character with the shape of a pendulum” (3) He fears its deadly velocity which represents his final hours of life. He feels terror of the doom that will “cut” his time on earth. As everyone knows, this symbolizes that death is inevitable.

Often times, a reader becomes shocked by the ending of a story. They never saw the twist ending coming and it leaves them speechless. Could the reader’s initial surprise have been avoided? Most likely, yes. Authors frequently put clues into their stories and books that can help a reader figure out the conclusion. In the story “ Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, written by Ambrose Bierce, the reader is taken on a great escape from the main character’s execution. The unexpected ending cuts the escape short by revealing Peyton Farquhar, the leading character, is actually dead and swinging from Owl Creek Bridge. Many clues are planted within Peyton’s escape that clue the reader in to realizing the true ending.

The passage of time is intrinsically connected to every aspect of life, as it is the construct through which we understand human experiences and the framework through which we comprehend our existence. The essence and effects of temporality reverberate through narratives; acting as a catalyst for action, or becoming an impediment to the future. Through the response that characters in The Wanderer and The Tempest have towards the transience of time, it becomes clear how these effects echo throughout the narrative, prompting these events into movement, and how they seep throughout every aspect of these texts.