An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Essays

An occurrence at owl Creek Bridge and the notorious jumping frog are two well-rounded short stories. With great plot and story lines throughout both stories, it allows people to think deeper and analyze different aspects of the story. For instance, the authors tone and how it affects the reader’s mood as the story carries on. With analyzing the tone readers can get into the mind of the author and feel or think how the author was when the story was written.

Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” contains a profound collection of information which causes the end of the selection to be exceptionally more shocking. Bierce alludes to Peyton Farquhar’s demise while still describing his adventurous escape from death. Through the use of a variety of literary techniques including imagery, preternatural plot elements, allusion, and more, Bierce foreshadows the damagingly shocking end of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.

The details and the ending of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" make it real. The characters are fully described from their titles to their attires. All the scenes are detailed both geographically and temporally. Moreover, the soldiers, the bridge, the ceremony, and the death of Farquhar are in perfect harmony with a hanging scene, hence, the realism of this tale.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, is a story that drastically depending on what perspective you look at it from. Is it about a man who is just trying to protect his home, or is he an enemy of the state? Maybe the man is skilled enough to make a quick escape back to his home and family; perhaps he’s a delusional man seconds away from death. Did he deserve to die just because he didn’t follow the rules of oppressive tyrants? Or did he get his just deserts for trying to disrupt the peace? Just like many things, the only way to be sure of what happened to Peyton Farquhar is by looking at it from all possible sides.

Guns cracking, cannons roaring, and the final plank of an execution is heard by spectators splashing into the water below during one of the most remarkable struggles in American history. The setting of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” takes place during the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce enlisted in the Civil War when he was eighteen. He uses this experience in his writing to create a more realistic setting for his short story. Bierce was a Confederate soldier, as is Peyton. Peyton attempts to blow up the bridge, but gets caught and is sentenced to be hanged. As Peyton is about to be hanged, he imagines the rope breaks allowing him to escape. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce creates an illusion of reality through the use of imagery but hides important details through the use of foreshadowing and allusion.

The events of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” all occur with in the last few minuets of Peyton Farquhar’s life. Subtle shifts in narration are present but often hard to detect in this work . The first section of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is written exclusively in objective point of view with omniscient narration . Whereas other parts are written in first person, told from Payton Farquhar’s point of view, resembling that of an interior monologue. These shifts in narration are key in furthering evidence the disassociation Farquhar has with his situation.

Ambrose Bierce displays writing skills in the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” that create an unforgettable tale. By using key literary devices, he takes the reader through an emotional journey. Imagery, prominently displayed throughout the story causes the reader to immerse themselves in their imagination, causing the largest effect on the audience. Within this imagery, Bierce includes symbolism to further enhance the text. Through it, he not only uses imagery to create a world, but he also creates an attachment to the characters. All of which, play into the plot, resulting in the impactful twist ending. In Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the total effect of imagery conveys evocative sensory details that

Ambrose Bierce displays writing skills in the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” that create an unforgettable tale. By using key literary devices, the author takes the reader through an emotional journey. Imagery, being prominently in display throughout the story, gives the most total effect. Because of this literary element the author creates a world in which the readers immerse themselves in their imaginations. Within this imagery the author includes symbolism to further enhance the text. The author does not just use imagery to create a world, but he also creates an attachment to the characters. All of these play into the plot resulting in the impactful twist ending. In Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,”

Identify a theme in Bierce’s story. How does Bierce use symbolism and imagery to establish his message?

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.

The short story by Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a story of many different feelings. The story causes the reader to visualize the preciousness of life itself and takes the reader on a roller coaster of different feelings on as to what is going on because of Bierce’s unique style by telling the story through visual aids and highly descriptive language. The story begins on a railroad bridge, where many northern troops stand with Peyton Farquhar standing on the edge of the bridge on a plank of wood in his last moments of life.

Set during the American Civil War, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the story of Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate sympathizer condemned to death by hanging from Owl Creek Bridge.

"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 was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He was born on June 24, 1842 in Ohio. Today, he is known mostly for his short stories, which often have grim subject matter, a cynical or brooding tone, crisp and precise language, and a stripped-down style. He is best known for his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. This short story was written in 1886 and was first published in the collection Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. Throughout this short story the styles, techniques, and characters are relatively easy to analyze, and some aspects of this short story could be compared to The Necklace.

Identify a theme in Bierce’s story. How does Bierce use symbolism and imagery to establish his message?

This essay paper compares two short stories regarding different points such as differences in characterizations and their development through the story. The short stories that has been chosen for this paper are Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.

Ambrose Bierce 's “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a short story illustrating the capture of a wealthy planter and slave owner in the midst of the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce uses the sense of time and illusion to go in greater depth of his multiple themes. Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” shows many different aspects of literary devices, setting, and theme to help develop the story about Peyton Farquhar and the alternative reality around him. A quick look at these multiple aspects will reveal how “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” achieves its dramatic effect.

Peyton Farquhar, the character of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” is a wealthy Southern slave owner of about thirty-five years of age. He is about to be hung for an attempt to destroy the Owl Creek railroad bridge. While he’s entitled life has prevented him from becoming a Confederate soldier, it is however stated that there was "no service too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake." And since he dies at the end, this statement shows Peyton as bit arrogant, determined and optimistic young fool.

Some authors capitalize the dualities of two concepts such as life and death, and in many cases, subjective or objective reality of characters ' lives. The duality of the two concepts creates an interesting story for the reader, but it also allows the reader to acknowledge the difference between realistic and imagined aspects. For example, readers tend to be oblivious to see the real facts in a story about the main character and thus deceived by their subjective personal opinions and beliefs to an already established story. In the short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", Ambrose Bierce illustrates the last few minutes of a man named Peyton Fahrquhar who is executed by being hunged over a bridge but creates an illusion of escaping home when he truly died. Certainly, through his application of literary elements such as imagery, symbolism, and structure, the author demonstrates his dark gothic style in writing to portray a subjective versus objective theme and as a result, create an introspective realism towards his audience.

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", is by Ambrose Bierce. The story tells of a Southern farmer, named Peyton Fahrquhar, who went to go disrupt the north’s railroad, which was a trap, and was caught and sentenced to be hung. He thought he had escaped death, but he was dying. This shows that time is very fluid. Sometimes what could be minutes may feel like hours or vice versa, and everyone experiences time differently. A memorable quote is, "As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon - then all is darkness and silence! Peyton Fahrquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge." It shows that in the time he thought he was going to see his family, he was dying.