Suspense In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

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.

Ambrose Bierce creates suspense in his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. By using literary techniques such as story structure, imagery, characterization, time, setting. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is about a man who in the civil war is trying to burn the union bridge but is caught and we see his hanging.

In the story, Peyton Farquhar dies, but as a reader, we do not learn this fact until the very end. Ambrose Bierce hides this fact until the end by providing an adventure through the mind of a dying Peyton Farquhar. Along the incredible journey of “escape”, Bierce alludes to the inevitable end to which the reader is captured by the idea that Peyton Farquhar could actually get away. The short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has several literary techniques that capture the reader’s attention.

Brent made a bad decision one night and began to drunk drive with suicidal thoughts. He got into a car crash hoping to kill himself but instead killed a girl named Lea. When Brent's actions (car crash) affected ones family he had to pay a restitution. Brent had a meeting with Lea’s mother and she decided on the restitution for Brent to go to the four corners of the USA and put a whirligig up. With his new journey Brent starts new because the people he comes in contact with, don't know his backstory. It’s a fresh start for him to realize he made a mistake and it's over with.

Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is one of the most thought-provoking Civil War stories written in the 19th century. In this story, Bierce digs his pen into philosophical questions about “the nature of time and the nature of abnormal psychology” (Logan 102). Yet because of the story’s multifaceted poignancy, scholarship has debated whether it is a Romantic yarn, a Gothic tale, or something abruptly more cynical. I will argue that “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is actually a transitional short story that explores how the rise of regionalism and realism during the Civil War led to the death of romanticism.

Ambrose Bierce, the Author of “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” about a man who was being hanged, throughout the story Peyton hallucinates and thinks that he has escaped the hanging but in reality he’s dying. Bierce uses symbolism in “ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” to foreshadow that Peyton is going to die. There are multiple allusions throughout the story that Bierce used to convey the death of Peyton. Imagery is used throughout the entire story to show that Peyton is hallucinating. Throughout the entire story Bierce uses multiple literary techniques to foreshadow Peyton’s death.

Did Peyton Farquhar only commit the convicted crime of destroying government property or were his intentions more malicious than that? Was Farquhar tampering without authorization with government property to affect the war and to counteract the Federal Army, just so he could feel like a hero and aid the South? Ronald Reagan once stated, “We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” That is exactly what I intend to do with Peyton Farquhar, make him accountable for his quilty actions. Peyton Farquhar was charged with destroying government property, the penalty being death. Farquhar was completely guilty of

In the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, written by Ambrose Bierce, he tells the story of white southerner during the American Civil War who has committed a crime against the Union and is punished to death by hanging. Throughout the short story Bierce takes us the readers on a journey through northern Alabama filled with suspense and foreshadowing. Through the entire short story Bierce uses many different types of foreshadowing to anticipate the fate of the main character. Bierce foreshadows the ending of the story in three ways, 1.) Peyton Farquhar’s heightened senses, 2.) at the commencement of part III he expresses that Peyton Farquhar is already dead, and 3.) Bierce uses inmediares to convey foreshadowing to us the readers.

Suspense is what makes a book become an outstanding book. This is why Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, heaped suspense into the book. Interestingly, suspense is defined as a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. Lee uses numerous literary techniques to develop suspense in the story. Two that she uses to employ suspense is cliffhangers and imagery. The author applies cliffhangers and imagery to create suspense.

"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.

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.

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.