Essay On 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.

The water, touched to gold by the early sun, the brooding mists under the banks at some distance down the stream, the fort, the soldiers, the piece of drift--all had distracted him. And now he became conscious of a new disturbance” (105). The limited third person omniscient centers completely on Peyton Farquhar. These same thoughts manifest into a daring escape which lead him into the river through the woods and back to his family. During this escape Ambrose Bierce goes on to describe Farquhar’s heightened senses as “they made record of things never before perceived” (107). Such a description could also be argued to be another hint to the change in perspectives. Farquhar conceivably falls into a type of dream. Some readers may find it difficult to agree with such a statement. One could argue that the dream Peyton Farquhar is supposedly having could very well be a part of death itself. It’s safe to say that no one really knows what happens when people die. Near death experiences are not death. No one will ever know what goes through a person’s mind those few minutes, seconds, or milliseconds before death, nor will anyone know until it is their time. Peyton Farquhar could have easily been going through some sort of stage of death. In his case, Farquhar visualized himself

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.

This is an example of how the closer he comes to death, the slower time seems to move for him. In one moment the river is moving rapidly and in the next it is described as sluggish. Yet through the anticipation time is speeding up. It is as if the suspense has frozen time all together.

Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a story about a man’s final moments on earth before he is hanged and how he got there. There is a struggle within the character Farquhar of who he is and who he thinks he is. This causes different views throughout the story between reality and a fantasized reality. This plays a big role in the story because in part three of the story he thinks he is far superior and had outwitted his captures and escaped without a scratch after the rope broke and fell into the water. In reality he had been hanged and his body was swaying back and forth. This story had more meaning then just the top layer of being just about a guy who is being hanged. The meaning of this story is how fluid time moves, by this I mean how time seems to flow like a river it can move fast to slow and even seem to stand still. It has a secondary meaning of how we can fantasize another reality that can cause troubles for us. By this I mean you can envision your self into another world when you are still in the actual world, this can cause you to get yourself into a lot of trouble.

In the beginning of the short story, as Brother reflects on Doodle’s life, the author uses personification and foreshadowing to create a mood of remorse. As he gazes out of the window into his backyard, Brother states that “the graveyard flowers were blooming. ...speaking softly the names of our dead” (Hurst 1). The flowers provide flashbacks of the past, and foreshadow a loss of life. The loneliness felt by Brother causes readers to consider how they would feel if their loved one was gone. As Brother observes the seasons, it is noted that “summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” (Hurst 1). The personifications of the seasons as stages in the cycle of life and death creates an unsure and uncertain mood. The shift between seasons creates an idea of change and uncertainty of events to come. Hurst creates a mood of remorse through

“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’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.

In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Story of an Hour," the authors use similar techniques to create different tones, which in turn illicit very distinct reactions from the reader. Both use a third person narrator with a limited omniscient point of view to tell of a brief, yet significant period of time. In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," Bierce uses this method to create an analytical tone to tell the story of Farquhar's experience just before death. In "The Story of an Hour," Chopin uses this method to create an involved, sympathetic tone to relay the story of Mrs. Mallard's experience just before death. These stories can be compared on

The point of view in which a story is told in is very important to how the reader visualizes the story. In some stories a character is telling or conveying a story through their eyes. Although, in some stories like “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the story is told through the eyes of a narrator. The reader of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” can see that the story is told by a narrator due to the choice of words used in the text. Another clue that shows the reader that this short story is told by a narrator is when a third-person description is given on the main character, Peyton Farquhar. Normally, in a short story the narrator just tells the story as he or she had seen or been told the events. Unlike those short stories I believe that

Reality and illusion juxtapose in the story, and until the end, the readers aren’t aware of any division between them. The concise title “An Occurrence at the Owl Creek Bridge” explains the short amount of time that Farquhar experiences before his death, an occurrence presents in both the title and in the creek below the bridge, a current runs through the story. The current could represent life, or time, or freedom. The imagined escape that runs counter to the actual execution in the story identifies the gap between who Farquhar actually is and who he would like to be. In his mind, he is able to escape from his capturers and make it back home, whereas the reality of his situation is much more gruesome. Farquhar’s vision in his imagination

I enjoyed An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge both for its jarring subject and writing style. Ambrose Bierce wrote with color and suspense throughout the short story, and the buildup was incredible. I thought the pacing was done incredibly well; this contributes quite a bit to my positive final thoughts on the story.

In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce tells the story of Peyton Farquhar, a man who is about to be hanged for aiding the Confederacy during the Civil War. In the moments before his hanging, he reminisces about scheming to set a bridge on fire in order to prohibit the advancement of Union soldiers, which is why he is being hanged. Peyton then begins plotting his escape and the reader is tricked into thinking he escapes his execution and makes it safely to his house, when in reality he is actually hanged.

This short, yet heart breaking film is written by Ambrose Bierce and directed by Robert Enrico. This story takes place during the Civil War. A man, by the name of Peyton Farquhar, is caught tampering with the bridge and is sentenced to death by rope. Ambrose Bierce specifically created this literary piece of film to keep the readers attention and she achieved this by going into the mind of Farquhar. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is ironic due to the inevitable time in which Farquhar has left, and the realism he must face.

Born in 1842, Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American Civil War soldier and topographer, clever journalist and profound writer. Throughout his writing career, Bierce earned the nickname, “Bitter Bierce” because of his satirical wittiness and humor. Today, he is well-known for his short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and his satirical lexicon, The Devil’s Dictionary, which originally appeared under the title The Cynic’s Word Book. Considered as one of the major authors of the Civil War genre, Bierce’s writings reflect his knowledge of military strategy and life, which gives every reader an intense understanding of the context of his stories rather than the glory and fame of war. Later on, Bierce became an influential writer on the west coast as he worked for the San Francisco Examiner after the war ended. Along with war and ghost stories, Bierce published several volumes of poetry. In 1914, Ambrose traveled to Mexico during its Revolutionary War to observe but unfortunately disappeared without a trace.