An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge essay

AnOccurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

AnOccurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Inthe story, AnOccurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,there is clear indications of reality which help to show that thestory is true. These are edged upon the various elements given out inthe literal guides on the nature of reality and how one can be ableto establish whether a given story is real or not. The elements ofreality go a long way in making one to believe that the narrative isgiven in a particular story did take place (Tabachnick, 2013)

Thereare various literal elements that help to bring out the aspect of thereality of stories. These include flashback, irony, figurativelanguage, and foreshadowing. One of the elements that Ambrose Bierceuses in his aim of ensuring that there is an element of reality inthe story is the use of silence (Bierce, 2015). In this instance, thenarrator applied silence to explain the sequence of events that leadto the hanging of Farhar. The story is told in an eerie atmospherewhich leads the reader of the story to be left out in a great levelof uncertainty. This aspect makes the reader read between the linesand try to come up with some imaginations of how the story is Khanom,2013). This motivates the person to try and live through the plot ofthe story and be able to, ‘see’ how the events took place.

Anotherview of reality that can be seen in the story is the fact that Bierceapplies the use of metaphor in which he explains the focus that thesolders involved in the hanging of Farquhar showed while doing thejob (Herman, 2013). They did this as per the military requirementswhich force them to observe a great level of attention while in theirduties. In the narrative, Bierce uses the metaphor that, ‘they wereas stiff as statues of stone to show the focus that the solders hadwhile on duty. The figurative use of words helps to bring out thereality nature of the story and therefore, makes it easy for one tobelieve that the incident did take place.

References

Bierce,A (2015). AnOccurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Herman,D. (2013). Narrative Theory and the Sciences of Mind.&nbspLiteratureCompass,&nbsp10(5),421-436.

Khanom,A. (2013).TeachingAmerican Literature: &quotSilence as Literary Device in AmbroseBierce`s `The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.`A Journal of Theory and Practice Spring 2013 (6:1) 45

Tabachnick,S. E. (2013). A Possible Source for the Conclusion of AmbroseBierce`s “”.&nbspANQ:A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews,&nbsp26(1),45-48.