In Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

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According to Clarence Darrow, an American lawyer during the Civil War, “upright, honorable boys” enlisted “in this war and learned to place a cheap value on human life.” Set during the Civil War, Ambrose Bierce’s short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” shares a similar sentiment about the stark contrast between the desensitized soldiers, and the upright civilians who still value human life. The short story’s plot follows Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate supporter, while the Union military force is about to hang him on Owl Creek Bridge– without trial– for attempting arson against the Union, although, Farquhar seemingly escapes his demise and travels back to his house. Yet, just as Farquhar is about to reunite with his wife, the narrator reveals that Farquhar hallucinated his exaggerated escape in the paucity of time it took for the noose to kill him. In his short story, Bierce uses characterization, through hyperbole and diction, and a couples it with irony in order to distinguish a discrete separation between the compassion of civilians, and the military-induced dehumanization of soldiers.
Through Bierce’s use of hyperbole and diction, the author affords characterization in order to portray the juxtaposition between the desensitization of soldiers, and the warmth of civilians. When the soldiers shoot at Farquhar …show more content…
By carefully selecting these literary techniques, Bierce reveals the irony in war and contrasts lively, compassionate civilians with mechanized militants in order to display his view that the military teaches them to “place a cheap value on human life.” In this way, Bierce juxtaposes the two in an effort to provide luminous insight that the dehumanization of the soldiers is learned

Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

Ambrose Bierce establishes realism to transform people's perception of the Civil War. In his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, he adds many realistic details that are enhanced by his experience from fighting in the war. However, he replaces reality with a fantasy world that is deceptively similar to the real world. Bierce contradicts realism by hiding the line between reality and illusion in order to trick the readers into thinking that the entire story is real. Robert Enrico, the…

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Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

After reading “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce and watching the movie I believe that the print better foreshadows the surprise ending. In the story the author uses subtle hints to show that the events said are not the actual events taking place, one including where the author says “Midway up the slope between the bridge and fort were the spectators—a single company of infantry in line, at "parade rest," the butts of their rifles on the ground, the barrels inclining slightly…

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Ambrose Bierce's Occurrence Of Owl Creek Bridge

The purpose and structure for the story Occurrence of Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce is to entertain but also to describe in detail what happened to Payton Farquhar. The story is very descriptive and ambiguous. As I read it, I found the story very vivid. The author makes us believe that Farquhar is dead at the beginning; but really, he wasn’t. Daniel Samide says, “There is no way we can know his escape is unreal until the last line of the story, when the narrator emerges from Farquhar's mind…

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Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" begins by describing the brutal hanging of a group of people. The author, Ambrose Bierce, introduces the first character who is being executed and describes him as an innocent citizen and a gentleman. These characteristics create a connection between him and the reader, as the author continues to explain how the man does not deserve to be assassinated by the liberal military code. Bierce continues the story by using descriptive adjectives to guide the reader through…

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An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge And Chickamauga

interesting for the audience. Ambrose Bierce, a short story author, uses similar literary techniques in each of his stories, such as, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga.” In the two stories mentioned Bierce uses literary devices and techniques such as, imagery, realism, and similes to help convey his message to readers. In both stories Ambrose Bierce uses imagery to create vivid pictures in the reader’s minds. For example, in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” when Bierce describes…

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Questions: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Farquhar Essay

III Honors An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Questions 3 April 2013 Making Meanings 1. The story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ends abruptly. After eloquently depicting the gentlemen Peyton Farquhar’s escape to freedom, one would believe that the man did escape through a sort of miracle and was lucky enough to be in the arms of his wife again. The story is cut short when the reader learns that the man did not escape and that he was merely day dreaming. The technique that Ambrose Bierce used to…

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An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary

story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the author Ambrose Bierce demonstrates the concept with Peyton Farquhar that things are not always the way they appear to be. Up until the end of this story Bierce has you thinking the trials Farquhar goes through is a reality, although at the end the story the reader will find out differently. At the beginning of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", Bierce begins the short story with Peyton Farquhar, a 35 year old planter, remaining on Owl Creek Bridge with…

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Essay about A Demonstration of 19th Century America

stories, speeches, letters, and poems were written about the era, but there is one that best exemplifies the time period. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce reflects the society of the 19th Century without holding back any of the emotions or brutal violence that resulted from the conflicts in the Civil War. The author of this short story, Ambrose Bierce, had experienced war firsthand. He had volunteered to fight as a soldier in the Union Army since he could not find any other…

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Realsim Concept Paper

Anita Volk Professor Palenque ENG 353 19 January 2015 Realism & Romanticism in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is an engaging short story that takes place during the American Civil War. It contains the contrast of two of the literary genres—realism and romanticism—that reflect the major shift in popular literature at the time. The romantic genre of fiction had flourished for two centuries leading up to the Civil War. After the war, the outlook…

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From Pages to Popcorn Essay

Leave it to Director Robert Enrico to resurrect the classical short from Ambrose Bierce’s, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, straight to the big screen to captivate audiences once again. This two-toned color marvel seems to leap right from the texted-version, every word crafted into a visual recreation. While both media and manuscript fair similar, there is still much room for interpretation. Great features come from both text form, and theater, as we experience a great read-along or a cinematic…

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