How Does Bierce Use Irony In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is the story of a man named Peyton Farquahar and his mentality as he is becoming a martyr for the confederacy cause. The writer of this story uses many literary techniques as she is carrying us through his last moments. The writer uses foreshadowing, imagery and irony to allow the reader to understand how Farquahar feels as he is dying. The author began the story describing the scene of the bridge. Bierce subtly hints foreshadowing throughout the story. Bierce’s whole story is hinging on the final element of the character finally realizing that Farquahar never escaped to begin with and he is actually dead. For example, when the noose supposedly breaks and "He swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillation," this is foreshadowing his body as it is swinging from the gallows. "All was dark and cold" the narrator was describing the water, but it also foreshadows him describing death. Another literary device used a lot in this story was imagery. Bierce paints the picture and allows the reader to feel, hear, and see what the character is experiencing right before his death. The narrator refers to following the "dancing driftwood"(Bierce, with his eyes just moments for him to be killed, this imagery describes how Farquahar’s mind is freely wondering but his …show more content…
It is a little ironic that Farquahar is being hanged for a crime he failed in commiting. Farquahar intended to burn down the bridge in efforts to help the confederacy. One example of irony in this story is “A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attatched to a stout cross-timber above his head and the slack fell to the level of his knees.” The irony is in Farquahar imagines living for such a long period of time as he is falling from a noose that should kill him in merely seconds. There was also irony in the story when the “iron-clad soldier” stops by his plantation and basically tells Farquahar how to take over and burn the bridge
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