Preview

Analysis Of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
405 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce. It takes place during the Civil War. Bierce keeps the reader interested through the use of literary techniques. The story has a shocking ending that is foreshadowed by the literary techniques. Ambrose Bierce foreshadows the ending of the story through the use of symbolism, irony, and other literary techniques. There are many examples of symbolism throughout the story. One example is the grey eyes of Peyton and his murderer. Peyton looking exactly like his murderer could symbolize that he was his own murderer because he tampered with the bridge after he was warned not to. Peyton being stuck underwater for a short period of time and not being able to breath symbolizes

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Do you like surprise endings? “An Occurrence at Owl Creek”, by Ambrose Bierce supplies a startling one. Set in Alabama during the Civil War, Peyton Farquar, a well-to-do, slave owning plantation owner “who was at heart a soldier,” was kept out of the military service for reasons left vague. A Union scout,dressed as a Rebel, stops at his house and suggests burning a near by bridge now in Union hands. Set up, Farquar is caught and ordered to be hanged, during which the rope breaks and he makes good his escape. Upon reaching his home, thirty miles away, his reunion with his wife is cut short by the revelation that the escape was in his mind, he is actually hung! By using the literary elements point of view, setting, and symbolism, the author makes good his surprise.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The question above asks of a question that us, the reader, can only assume as to whether or not the author meant a significance to the title “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The story overall revolves around the main character, Peyton Farquhar, who is sentenced to be hanged because he was deceived by a Yankee spy. When it is time for Peyton to jump, the noose breaks Peyton free and he swims to a road, dodging the bullets being fired at him. Peyton arrives at home greeted by his family, when snap the noose breaks his neck, leaving Peyton dead on Owl Creek Bridge. On the way down to his death, Peyton had one last glimpse of his life and family before he died. Since this question is more of a narrow-minded request, I believe that there is…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his introspective short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” author Ambrose Bierce embraces two different perspectives to demonstrate the fluidity of time. By showing an execution through the eyes of both the convict and an unnamed narrator, Bierce presents how perceptions of time may differ depending on situations.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In reference to literary movements, naturalism and realism are quite similar but have clear differences to each other. Realism refers to writings that are based off the “real world” and the way a human in the real world would usually live their life. Naturalism is in a way a branch of realism and the stark difference between the two is that literary naturalist deemed that nature – things out of human control – determine humans/characters circumstances.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abrose Bierce created a work of literature “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” a short story that takes place during the Civil War. Farquhar the protagonist in this short story is being hanged. ““The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroads, its bridges, tunnels, or trains, will be summarily hanged”(Bierce 770). Farquhar arrogance contributed to his death. He saw the signs that told him to not tamper with any traveling path or die. His disregard for the rule caused his untimely death and the flashbacks in his life before the incident.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    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 and in doing so, Bierce’s style tells 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.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 7th grade I had a crush on my history – geography teacher, Ms. Nail. She was in her early to mid twenties with jet black hair, slim and attractive, I thought she was Jackie Kennedy's sister.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Title

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The title, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is an extremely interesting title making you want to read the story. The word "Occurrence" in the titlet made me want to find out what the "Occurrence" was. The title made me start thinking about what the story really could be about.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death to the traitors! Bierce uses foreshadowing to create a shock effect for the reader’s throughout the entire short story of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. Ambrose furthermore uses symbolism to foreshadow events in his story. He also uses imagery to indicate events that were occurring. Ambrose Bierce uses foreshadowing and other literal techniques to create a shock effect in his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is a story divided into three parts. In the first part we meet a man about to be hung by the Union army in the time of the Civil War. He is being hung for an unknown reason other than opposing the Union army. In the second section we learn about the successful planter named Peyton Farquhar. Peyton wants to help the confederacy; he is unable to join the Confederate Army. A Union spy comes and tells him of a way he can sabotage the Union army. In the third section Peyton’s rope breaks and he makes an escape from the Union soldiers. He makes it back home after walking all night to find his wife and when they embrace we find that Peyton is dead swinging over the creek. Bierce used many aspects of naturalism and realism in this piece: the details, Mr. Farquhar’s set up and the ending.…

    • 740 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Suspense

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The author uses few details to describe the narrator and does not explain the reason the narrator is being hung, to create a feeling of suspense in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” For example, Bierce states, “Evidently this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.” (Page 2) This quote demonstrates the lack of detail the author used to describe the narrator in the beginning of the story, which helps create and suspenseful mood throughout the text. By not including many descriptive details, the reader is clueless as to why Farquhar is being hung making him a sympathetic character, who is awaiting an undeserved fate. This helps to create suspense because…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Upon reading "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrouse Bierce I immediately found myself pulled into this story from sentence one. The story is both vivid and simplistically complex. Bierce's telling of this story read like so many movies I've seen in the past. We've all seen these movies. The movie starts in the present or what we preceive to be the present and then like a sling shot catapults us back in time to account for what we've just seen. The story flowed seemlessly through time without leaving me feeling at any point confused about where or when I was. The use of time in this story was used to perfection. It starts in the present takes you back to the past and at certain parts in the story time seems to stand still. While reading this story I often at times felt as if I myself were Peyton Farquhar and that the noose was around my neck. At the begginning of this story one could come to the conclusion that Farquhar was a captured enemy soldier about to be hung for his crimes but as the story evolves we can see that he is something more complex. He's a man of substance and privilege with an insatiable love for his country and way of life. Peyton Farquhar grew up as a rich southerner. He had everything that a man could want at that point in time: a wife, children, land and slaves. For reasons unexplained in the story he was unable to take up arms and fight for his beloved country. Although he had all that a man in his time could want he felt unfulfilled. An evening of relaxation with his wife on the front porch as fate would have it would yield him a chance to take part in the fight and gain some sense of redemption. As they sat they were approached by a Federal scout and was told of events on Owl Creek Bridge. He saw that him destroying the bridge would give him a chance to make his mark in the war. This is why he was willing to do anything as "no service was too humble to him to perform in aid of the south, no…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It should be understood that symbolism can have meaning outside the story. The author could be relating to him or herself, which means that symbolism could mean anything to the author. But, that means it can be hard understand, as you don’t have the same experience as the author but there will probably be something in the passage that hints to the authors meaning, queuing you to understand the…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the story, we are able to see of different of a world Ambrose Bierce lived in compared to the one that we know. This is the first part of the story that noticed, because in today's world, no man would ever be hung, let alone executed for tampering with a bridge.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death is like a ticking clock that awaits us all. When our time comes we all want to turn the hands of time back again, so we can recapture the moment of our life again. In that final moment we will appreciate every sense of being, such as touch, feel and see. An “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” draws the audience from the beginning to the very end. Enrico takes us on a journey of many images when a Confederate Soldier is about to be hang to death by the Union Army. While Peyton hands and feet are tied he waits impatiently and with apprehension, for the signal of the captain, he will then step off the board. The board will tilt over and Peyton will fall through the railway ties. In the light of this gimmicky ending Peyton captivate the viewers as a brave soldier. Furthermore, Enrico brilliance and innovative narration keep the viewers guessing and compels us to see, hear, and feel Peyton desperation to escape from realty. The watch, water and the gates are all images of Peyton freedom that he wants to relive if only for a moment.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays