Preview

Owl Creek Bridge Realism

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1067 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Owl Creek Bridge Realism
Storytelling has been an ongoing tradition that has positively impacted society. Nobody knows when the first story was told, it has gone astray in the mist of time, but it has become a tradition that is still practiced. Storytelling binds and defines humanity, humans are perhaps the only animals that create and tell stories. There is a wide selection of stories that may possibly be articulated, and a wider selection of stories to be generated. Ambrose Bierce created a story that is truthful and emphasizes the real details of life, no softening. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a story that explains the traumatic experience of a soldier, seeing his life flash before his eyes, while being hung. Realism is a careful description of mundane …show more content…
In this story, the setting is a bridge separating the territory under control of the Union Army from territory recently held by the South. The bridge, countryside, and Farquhar's home are all described realistically. The author notes the exact layout of the bridge and setup. This is apparent since the opening of the story: "Some loose boards laid upon the sleepers supporting the metals of the railway supplied a footing for him and his executioners". Regionalism allows for the reader to know the area, but also to become familiarized with the landscape. This permits for the reader to be aware of what is occurring, but also associate with it. This is attributable because the reader notices the real situations and can feel the pain. Also, terminology permits for local color to be present, “The Yanks are repairing the railroads”. With exact terminology and diction established, a recognizable aurora is given. The story plot feels more real, telling it how it is. Bierce employs the technique of diction to elucidate to the audience that Peyton is a regular man. This permits for the reader to connect and feel as the story is real. If the characters dialect in a real notion, then the audience feels closer and can argue that the story is actually real. Ambrose Bierce use of local color and regionalism allows for the classification of Realism to be …show more content…
Realistic stories often have unhappy endings and the story plot is unsympathetically real. Bierce produces the horrors of war, regionalism and local color aid in the comprehension of the plot and, lastly, Bierce explains in gritty details the death of Peyton Farquhar. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce illustrates the malice in the world. He gives the insight to problems people might face every day and allow for one to connect to those problems. Bierce demonstrates the realization that the real world is never truly fair. People die while others live; this is essentially what life is. Bierce short-story allows for one to realize that everyone has similar problems. In the end, Realism allows for a truthful testament of life to be shared. In the end, being able to relate to stories leaves a bigger impact on a
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: Film VS. Short Story
    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge: Film VS. Short Story

    When it comes to choosing whether or not to read the text along with the film, most would recommend reading the story first for “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. While the film had a mostly accurate portrayal of the story, one would need to read the text for the entire account. Although, the main character was believable as he made the reader or viewer sympathetic towards him. With flashbacks to his family, one could almost be empathetic with thoughts of losing someone. The use of camera angles was very effective. During the grand escape, they shot a majority of the shots at a high angle to show how helpless he was, at the mercy of the river. At times, the music could be a bit distraction. For example, when he first escaped, they played the song “Livin’ Man” and it was a bit strange. But at other times, the music helped to add intensity or emotion to the scenes when words could not.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge, an Analysis
    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge, an Analysis

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Foreshadowing In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Foreshadowing In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

    In Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, a confederate supporting man named Peyton Farquhar is being sentenced to hang by the Union Army. This is because of Farquhar’s attempt to demolish a very important bridge to the Union. Several situations which Bierce creates, exhibit the element of foreshadowing. A dream consisting of Farquhar escaping his execution occupies all of part three. Most of the foreshadowing methods reveal themselves by attempting to suggest to us that the dream which Farquhar is having is untrue.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary
    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary

    Even though both short stories, Editha and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, have illusions which the reader gets caught into, they are very different from one another. In Editha, the illusion comes about when George dies at war and the reader is convinced that Editha realized her selfishness and learned her lesson. Howells convinces the reader even farther by describing that Editha was physically ill with fever and grief. Only during the last paragraph are readers forced back to reality in that Editha has not changed and would probably continue to manipulate people in the future. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Peyton vividly depicts that when the sergeant steps off the wooden plank that he is standing on that the noose breaks and leads him spiraling into the water below. The reader is left on edge as Peyton barely escapes being killed from the shots fired from the soldiers, he then proceeds to attempt to find his way home back to his wife and children. Only once he finds the road he knows does the reader know what is happening, during this point in the story Peyton describes he swelled and bruised neck and how he couldn’t seem to feel the ground beneath his feet. He is then transported to the gates of his house and sees he wife, when he takes a step forward he feels and blow to his neck and is consumed by blackness. The last sentenced confirms the readers beliefs that he did not actually escape, he was dreaming and the noose never broke. Both the stories show the illusions wrenching the reader to see the grim reality of the…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Peyton Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Peyton Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

    “As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all around him with a sound like the shock of a cannon—then all is darkness and silence”. Ambrose Bierce has a unique way of captivating reader’s attention and it is perfectly shown in his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Foreshadowing
    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Owl Creek Bridge Foreshadowing

    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
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Story of an Hour,"
    • 1160 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Story of an Hour,"

    In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, " Bierce focuses on detail and the dramatic revelation of Farquhar's dying thoughts as he desperate tries to escape the hangmen. This creates a suspenseful journey that seems to see him freed from his noose and carried almost home to the loving arms of his wife. "As these thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were flashed into the doomed man's brain rather than evolved…

    • 1160 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Character Analysis: An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Character Analysis: An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

    I am Peyton Farquhar a thirty-five-year-old planter. The short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is about me. This story is about justice and my opinion about war. Justice and judgment were very important during the war, special to ordinary people. What I remembered about that days was standing on a platform, kind a hanging off the railroad bridge, then I saw some scene and I died at the end, by hanging off the Owl Creek Bridge.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge
    • 740 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge

    The first point of realism and naturalism in the story is how Bierce gave the reader a complete description of the world they read about. He told us very specific methods of the Union soldiers creating the makeshift hanging station for Farquhar. He describes in detail of how Farquhar wants to get home and see his wife and kids. In the quote, “a straight nose, firm mouth, broad forehead, from which his long, dark hair was combed straight back, falling behind his ears to the collar of his well-fitting frock coat” Bierce gives us a detailed description of Farquhar’s facial features and in fact it is the only description of a human in the whole story. In doing this he gives the reader a connection to him and the story itself. This shows the true and explicit side of the story and brings in the realism and naturalism.…

    • 740 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Foreshadowing
    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Owl Creek Bridge Foreshadowing

    Being faced with death is a tragic event that will make most people recall and reflect on what is most essential in one's life. Symbolism, in this story, was used to create a sense of foreshadowing and suspense. Ambrose Bierce, the novelist of this story, used numerous examples of literary techniques to generate a foreshadowing of a shock effect in the account of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." One of the main techniques Bierce used was symbolism. He also used irony, allusion, imagery, and realism. Together, these built a foreshadowing/shock effect-literary technique.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence at Owl creek bridge
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An Occurrence at Owl creek bridge

    The short story “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is a narrative about a man from Alabama who is being hung for opposing the northern troops during the Civil war. Bierce effectively breaks the story into three sections each of which concentrates on a different aspect of the situation at hand. Bierce also uses detailed imagery to realistically set up the scene for the story. Most striking of all is the manipulation of time that deceives the reader and results in a surprise ending. Initially the story starts with the preparation of the hanging of Peyton Farquhar. In this section, soldiers are everywhere getting ready to hang Peyton and there is silence everywhere. Peyton is facing the stream and standing on the edge of a plank fixing his last thoughts. In the second section, after fixing his thoughts Peyton goes into a daydream. He daydreams that an officer comes to his house to tell him they are fixing the railroad under the bridge, and lures him on to burn the bridge. Furthermore, it is revealed that Peyton is a well-to-do planter, a civilian, and an old family man. The escape, the third section Peyton escapes, but only in his dreams. Peyton leads us on to think he gets out of the rope, dodges bullets, and makes it to shore alive. Bierce uses this to attract the readers and make the detailed imagery.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Suspense
    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Owl Creek Bridge Suspense

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Figurative Language In The Other Wes Moore
    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Figurative Language In The Other Wes Moore

    Throughout life, inspirational lessons dwell at every corner with that golden opportunity to take those lessons and inspire others. Speeches are excellent ways to teach lessons and motivate listeners since the speaker has the freedom to add emotion to their voices and also add dramatic pauses that create suspense within the crowd of onlookers. However, stories can lack that emotion the voice of a speaker gives it. So, author’s use different styles of writing such as varied sentence length for the reader to know the right pauses and imagery to create an impact on the reader’s mind. Wes Moore, the author of The Other Wes Moore, uses theses crafts of writing to make a claim in the beginning portion of chapter seven that the impermanence of life makes every moment too precious to waste.…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Naturalism and Psychoanalysis in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Naturalism and Psychoanalysis in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

    The elements of Naturalism at play in this story are present on the description of the scene where the story takes place. The description of Farquhar’s executioners is especially telling. “Two private soldiers of the Federal Army, directed by a sergeant who in civil life may have been a sheriff” demonstrates that war is not far removed from a civil life, as the sergeant is executing a man just as he would if he were a sheriff. Further along in the story Bierce describes Death as “a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him.” By this statement, Bierce gives death a personality that links it with the human obsession with death. Further examples of realism are the descriptions of the environments that Farquhar imagines himself to be in. These depictions of things that are surreal and impossible lends to the desperation of the last vestiges of life to cling to the world. The passages that mention how clearly he can see his surroundings are examples of this. The best link to Naturalism in this story is the final description of the death of Peyton Farquhar, “Peyton Farquhar was dead: his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of Owl Creek…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics