An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge And The Man He Killed

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The short story and poem I chose is “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, and “The Man he Killed” by Thomas Hardy. The story and poem are very different from one another. Although the story and poem may be somewhat similar, it is rather different in context. These two different writings show us the horror of war.

In the beginning of the story, a man is scheduled to be hung on the railroad for being a spy. “The man who was engaged in being hanged.” (Bierce 1) While the soldier in the poem is shot. “But ranged as infantry, and staring face to face, I shot at him as he at me, and killed him in his place.” (Hardy 5-8) This is when the soldier is recalling the time he shot someone he didn’t know. There is death on both story and poem, one is where a civilian is being hung for disobedience - the other is a man that is killed by an enemy soldier. …show more content…
“Peyton Farquhar was a well-to do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family. Being a slave owner.” (Bierce 2) This shows his family background. In the poem, the man was looking for work. “Was out of work--had sold his traps--” (Hardy 15) The soldier enlisted because he was out of work. The story and the poem describes the death of the person, in the story, much more detail were given, while the poem just says he is shot dead. Essentially, it is telling us how one’s life is taken
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