Literary Experience In 'An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge'

The way an author writes a work can mean the difference between interest or the lack of interest. When first reading “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” a reader may find the ending quite a shock. However, if another author would write the same plot, the shock may not exist, but, because of the many techniques displayed by Ambrose Bierce throughout his work, readers remain interested and shocked upon first reading the last line. Techniques Bierce display in his work, such as use of point of view, literary devices, and plot developments, prove useful throughout “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by peaking the reader’s interest and keeping him or her trying to guess what exactly happened. Bierce employs two forms of point of view throughout his work, third-person omniscient and third-person limited. Throughout “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” he switched back and forth between the two. Third-person omniscient occurs when the narrator has the insight of thoughts and emotions, but is not the character. Just before the hanging occurs, the view shifts. An example of third-person omniscient point of view, displayed in this quote, briefly describes how the reader gains insight to the thoughts of Peyton, “‘If I could free my hands,’ he thought, ‘I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream.’” Third-person limited has the characteristics of what one may consider “regular” for third-person point of view. This type of point of view is told from a person watching out