Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge Essay - 1115 Words

Out of all the stories I have read in class so far, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, has touched me most. When I first began reading the story I felt as though I was not interested, because my assumptions of what the story was going to be about were completely different than the stories actual content. As I set aside my judgment and let myself try to enjoy the story, I found myself anxiously reading to the bitter end. This story was not only interesting and unique, but also had an added twist at the end, which surprised most readers. Depending on how observant the reader is with picking up on foreshadowing and symbolic meaning, one may realize before the final sentences that Peyton Farquar was not actually escaping†¦show more content†¦While this section is not necessarily a crucial part of the story, it does help build Peyton’s character as well as the overall character of the story. The third part of this story focuses attention back to the scene at the bridge, where the authors deceiving words make the reader think Peyton has escaped from the rope and now desperately fights his way home to the loving arms of his wife again. As I said before this part of the story continues on a systematic path, describing every little detail occurring from Peyton’s point of view up until the last seconds before his death. The main theme of this story, dying, opened my eyes to a view I had never thought about before. The author presents an in-depth narrative into the mind and thoughts of someone who is in the process of his last minutes of life. This could also be characterized by going through some of the five stages of dying: Denial, Anger, Depression, and Acceptance. An example of Denial would be when Peyton says, quot;If I could free my hands,quot; he thought, quot;I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream. By diving I could evade the bullets and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to the woods and get away home. My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invaders farthest advance.quot; Peyton shows signs of denial in this segment by presenting the possibility of escapingShow MoreRelatedAn Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge and The Necklace1378 Words   |  5 Pagesunconscious egos like desires and believes are often the most impo rtant factors to affect their behaviors and cause the consequential narrative events happen. Both of protagonists in the articles, Peyton Farquhar in Ambrose Bierce’s â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† and Madame Loisel in Guy de Maupassant’s â€Å"The Necklace,† are struggled with their identities, and suffered from the delusions caused by their egos, which lead themselves to make the irretrievable mistakes, and finally, they fall to the fantasiesRead MoreAn Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge: A Manipulation of Time705 Words   |  3 PagesAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Essay An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge: Present-Past-Present Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, which is a short story released in 1890, gained much popularity over the years. It is most famous for it’s manipulation of time. Though the events in the book only take seconds, the story is over eight pages long. Time seems to slow for the man in the noose and at the same time speed up for the reader. In this way, Bierce presents his manipulationRead More Ambrose Bierces’ An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesAmbrose Bierces’ Story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ambrose Bierces’ story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† tells the story of a confederate secessionist, who is being hanged by Union troops. At the time of the hanging, the soldiers drop him from the bridge. Luckily, just as he falls the rope snaps and the man dives into the â€Å"sluggish stream†. He miraculously takes off his ropes and swims away. When he reaches the bank of the creek, he runs for what seems like forever. He finallyRead MoreAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce Essay1061 Words   |  5 PagesReading and understanding literature is not as easy as it sounds. Being able to dissect each piece of information and connect it to the overall theme of the story takes lots of rereading and critical thinking. Reading the story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† takes lots of critical thinking and understanding the literature in a different point of view than the average reader would. The theme of this particular story quickly came to mind after initially concluding the reading, the author is tryingRead MoreAmbrose Bierce’s Experience During the Civil War and Its Influence on His Writing934 Words   |  4 Pagesduring battles , and saw men loose limbs and sustain serious injuries The story an Occurrence at Owl creek bridge, shows how a man , named Farquhar when faced with his own demise, grasps at any concept of freedom and safety to help him cope with his eminent reality. knows Farqhar is about to be hung , but in his mind as the noose is placed around his neck and the boards on the bridge begin to be kicked aside from under his feet,he starts to think of alternative ways in whichRead More`` One Kind Of Officer `` By Bierce863 Words   |  4 Pagesthat because Bierce enlisted in the Union army, his stories are biased towards the North. In fact, his stories showcase problems with both the North and the South, though his stories primarily focus on Union soldiers, others, like â€Å"An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge† and â€Å"Parker Adderson, Philosopher† detailing Confederate spies and civilians. After the war, Bierce supported the idea of returning Confederate battle flags—a topic that has become quite controversial. In the end, Bierce’s stories are