How Does Bierce Use Imagery In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was a story written by Ambrose Bierce. He wrote it to be a suspenseful and confusing short story. The suspense brought on by Bierce employed to clench one's attention throughout this short story by using numerous literary techniques.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek is a prime example of the power of imagery. A story about the hanging of a man who supported the Confederate cause during the Civil War and acted against the North leading to his immediate execution. This story effectively uses imagery with consistency, appealing to all senses and types of imagery, Visual imagery pertains to the sense of sight, tactile to touch, olfactory to smell, aural to sounds, and gustatory to taste. The utilization of descriptive words, relatable situations, or physical feelings allows this story to formulate an undeniable image with palpable feelings, sights and sounds.

The first literary technique that Bierce uses to create suspenses is time. In the short story he uses time in different ways like the man has watch and during the story bierce makes it where all you can hear is that watch with is symbolizing that time is running out. Bierce also uses when farquhar is running home it seems like it takes him forever to get there which it expects to not make it home. Then all

Symbolism is a way to enhance the reader's comprehension on the message they are trying to give. Symbolism acts as webbing between theme and story. Its able to cause the reader to have a visual representation of a certain concept. This is what Ayn Rand was able to articulately do. This literary element was able to help distinguish anthem to truly be apart of the dystopian genre.

Bierce uses symbolism throughout the entire story to help the reader realize the fate of Peyton which

Literary devices are used by an author to enhance a story. These devices can help to make a piece more descriptive, complex and thrilling. Literary devices can also help the reader further understand the text. Conflict, characterization, and imagery are exemplary examples of literary devices used by authors.

The images convey to the reader that the black boy and bullet struggle for survival. They are more similar and if they were both people more likely would be friends than enemies. The imagery that the poet uses is that it almost sounds like two boys growing up together with giving personification towards the bullet with it being fast and loud like a song. Other imagery would be the longing for warmth that both have and forcibly attempting to be hard. The focus would be on side by side examination between the black boy and the bullet. It all leads up to the black boy and bullet eventually meeting. There is a greater meaning behind

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" begins with the capture of the protagonist Peyton Farquhar, a plantation and slave owner. Bierce paints a vivid picture of the surroundings around Farquhar as he awaits to be hanged. It then flashes back to the days leading up to the hanging. Where Farquhar was deceived by a federal spy claiming to be a confederate soldier. In the end, we see Farquhar escape from reality as he is serving his sentence to finally his demise. Throughout the story we can tell by the way Ambrose Bierce uses military terminology that he had served in the military during the Civil War (Grenander) "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" carries the reader back to the American Civil War to experience the final days of Peyton Farquhar, and to reflect on the events and ultimate deception that brought him to his fate

Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” revolves around the manipulation of time through the conflict of man versus nature. Bierce uses time in his favor as he switches between the past and the present life of the main character, Peyton Farquhar, as he lives his last moments. He uses this to show how time can be “subjective and phenomenal during times of emotional distress”. (BookRags). The manipulation of time that is unnoticeable whilst reading the story strengthens the themes that are present in this work, such as man’s denial of mortality, and the conjuring of irrational situations.

How do you cope with the reality of day to day life? I would like to think I handle the reality of day to day life moderately well like everyone else. However, I began to question myself once again as I read Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” This story, with its unexpected ending, had me rereading it several times to pull out key details that led me down the wrong path the first time. As you can tell from the title, something big happened at the Owl Creek Bridge, but you have to wait until the end of the story to find out the truth, or else you could be lost in someone’s daydream. The story had me intrigued by the different directions it could take you, but it all made sense in the end, and I discovered you sometimes have to dig a little deeper to find the whole truth about someone.

Literary devices are used to bridge the gaps and fill in the cracks for me where simple words do not suffice in some stories. I find myself constantly searching stories for and identifying different types of literary devices. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, three uses of literary devices were demonstrated and used consistently. These literary devices are: repetition, imagery and flashbacks. This literary narrative is centered on an epic journey that utilizes literary devices to enhance the complexity and understanding in the story.

Columbine, by Dave Cullen is a non-fiction book documenting the horrific massacre which took place in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999. Not only does the writer give great detail about the shooting itself, he also gives and in depth look into the lives of the killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and their victims. The focus of this book is for the author to attempt to bring to light what really happened and hopefully gain better understanding as to why it all took place. Cullen, a journalist, begins an extensive nine year research in order to achieve awareness of the happenings before, during and after this tragic event. Entries from the perpetrators personal journals, stories from the ones who witnessed the shootings first hand, countless interviews from the victim’s families, as well as multiple other pieces of information give the reader an extremely up close and personal surrounding Columbine. Dave Cullen spent many years perfecting his book to make sure all the readers would know the correct story of Columbine.

While reading the 5 fiction short stories there became a common pattern between 3 stories and the characters in them. These stories are “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence, “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. Every character has the mindset to possibly fulfill their goals to better and/or change their lives.

When writers use imagery they help the reader give a visualization on what happens during a war. Wilfred Owens uses a lot of imagery to give the readers a clear thought on what was going on. Owen used “Gas! Gas! ” “yelling out and stumbling”, to show how dangerous the war was. Now Tim O’ Brien used imagery to illustrate what things soldiers had to carry. O’Brien added specific things like “steel helmets that weighed 5 pounds” just to give an example on how dangerous it was, even though people were still getting “shot in the head”. The power of imagery can have a very powerful impact on a person like when Kevin Powers gave a strong image on “watching women getting killed” and it just expresses the way the writers protest against the