An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge essays

An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge essays What makes Ambrose Bierce a realist Author "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" can be considered a work of realism for two reasons. The first is Bierce's utilization of his own military background giving this story a sense of realism. Bierce also conveys his pessimism after leading the reader to believe otherwise. This story provides social critique of the south during the Civil War. Bierce goes to great lengths to describe the opening sequence in terms of its military arrangement. He provides brilliant images of group formations and soldier stances like "a single company of infantry in line, at 'parade rest' the butts of the rifles on the ground, the barrels inclining backward against the right shoulder, the hands crossed upon the stock". He also takes the time to describe exactly how fortified the Owl Creek Bridge is. He shows his military experience by describing a road that stretches out of site and assuming that "Doubtless there was an outpost farther along". The procedures of a military execution were explained thoroughly including the code of conduct: "In the code of military manners silence and fixity are forms of deference". Bierce earned the nickname "Bitter Bierce early in his life for his pessimism. This is not evident in this story until the end. The third and final part begins with a sequence of miraculous occurrences allowing Peyton Farquhar to es cape from his hanging. The description of these events leads the reader to believe that Bierce is a Romantic author rather than a realist. The rope breaks dropping him into the creek. He then uses his "superhuman strength to remove the rope from around his neck. Peyton is then blessed with better senses seeing the veins on leaves in the forest and hearing gnats and dragonfly wings in the distance. Then he sees the eye of a marksman on the bridge through the range on the rifle. Amazingly, this marksman misses what should be an easy target and allows Farquhar to...