An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Analysis
Madison Mulac
February 8, 2014 “An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge” Analysis
“An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge” was written by Ambrose Beirce. The story was written between 1861 and 1865, during the Civil War. With this information it is easy to determine that this story was written as a Realistic text. Realism is a combination of literary technique used to create the text. In Realism, everything is real, meaning it only focuses on the cold, hard truths of life. Realism is very detailed, and everything in the story, for example, events, places, and characters are common place. I believe Realism could be the cruelest form of writing because of the way it focuses on the mind and its reaction and its abnormalities. The psychological part of Realism could be the cruelest part of this form of writing because it pulls emotions from the reader, giving us false hope. The smallest details are explained to demonstrate how Farquar’s mind is reacting as he nears his inescapable doom. The detail put into the description as he waits causes us to feel the anxiety. He so deeply describes the watch ticking so that we may understand how time has now seemed to have come to a standstill. Explaining every finite detail makes the reader imagine the story as if he or she were the character. The inclusion of the out-of-body experience allows the reader to imagine the that he/she is the character looking down at himself/herself going through the various stages of capture, possible escape and inevitable death. In the beginning we "see" Farquar, the main character, about to be hung for an unknown crime. The scene is described as the man standing and waiting for his death. He is surrounded by soldiers that are only there because it is part of their job. Here, we can see clear Realism, because the author describes the soldiers as simply blockading each of the bridge. "It did not appear to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at the center of the bridge...”
February 8, 2014 “An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge” Analysis
“An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge” was written by Ambrose Beirce. The story was written between 1861 and 1865, during the Civil War. With this information it is easy to determine that this story was written as a Realistic text. Realism is a combination of literary technique used to create the text. In Realism, everything is real, meaning it only focuses on the cold, hard truths of life. Realism is very detailed, and everything in the story, for example, events, places, and characters are common place. I believe Realism could be the cruelest form of writing because of the way it focuses on the mind and its reaction and its abnormalities. The psychological part of Realism could be the cruelest part of this form of writing because it pulls emotions from the reader, giving us false hope. The smallest details are explained to demonstrate how Farquar’s mind is reacting as he nears his inescapable doom. The detail put into the description as he waits causes us to feel the anxiety. He so deeply describes the watch ticking so that we may understand how time has now seemed to have come to a standstill. Explaining every finite detail makes the reader imagine the story as if he or she were the character. The inclusion of the out-of-body experience allows the reader to imagine the that he/she is the character looking down at himself/herself going through the various stages of capture, possible escape and inevitable death. In the beginning we "see" Farquar, the main character, about to be hung for an unknown crime. The scene is described as the man standing and waiting for his death. He is surrounded by soldiers that are only there because it is part of their job. Here, we can see clear Realism, because the author describes the soldiers as simply blockading each of the bridge. "It did not appear to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at the center of the bridge...”