An Occurrence In The Life Of A Slave Girl Analysis

After the victory of the Union on the Civil War, African Americans were emancipated from the slavery. There was dramatic increase in slave narrative during the post-Civil War era, and in response to Romanticism, literatures reflecting realism spread out. "Incidence in the Life of a Slave Girl" is one of the examples of African American literary works during that era, and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is an example reflecting the characteristics of Realism. To begin with, the common theme of both works is real lives during the Civil War. The only difference between those works is that "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" deals with the lives of civilians, while "Incidence in the Life of a Slave Girl" is about the lives of African American

For example, in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", the quote "The man's hands were behind his back, the wrists bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attached to a stout cross-timber above his head and the slack fell to the level of his knees" (Bierce 604) provides thorough descriptions on the states of the protagonist. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" also shows detailed depictions, especially for the emotions of Linda, the protagonist. For instance, "I was encountering dangers for the sake of freeing them, and must I be the cause of their death? The thought was agonizing …… But it added to my pain to think that the good old aunt, who had always been so kind to her sister's orphan children, should be shut up in prison for no other crime than loving them" (Harriet 579) well reflects the inner conflict, and guiltiness created by her escape. Nevertheless, there is a difference in a way each writing addresses those characteristics. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" uses third person limited point of view, which is a common characteristic found in literatures of realism. There is no "I" used in it, but the author uses "he" or "Peyton Farquhar" when indicates the protagonist. However, the narrator of "Incidence in the Life of Slave Girl" uses "I" instead of Linda when indicating the protagonist. Despite first person point of view is not a common characteristic found in realism, the usage of "I" makes the writing more personal, increasing the reality of the writings by connecting readers to the