Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Essay

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In the short story “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, the author uses a range of techniques to help create a contrast between realism and fantasy in his story in order to show humanity's need to escape death. This contrast also serves to help show Bierce’s own views on war and show the realism that is typical in many of his works. By using such effects, Bierce is able to use the story of a planter’s execution to provide an insight into the human mind when faced with death and to take away the delusions that the reader may have about war.
The vivid imagery and descriptions used help to create the gap between reality and fantasy that widens as the story progresses. The descriptions are initially quite factual however as he starts to hallucinate his escape, the descriptions become more and more vivid, reaching a level that surpassed human perception. The descriptions of the insects and fish around him are far too perceptive for a normal human to feel, however the extreme perception is used as a device to foreshadow the fact this is all …show more content…
The fantasy that he creates examines the unconscious efforts of the brain to do anything but accept oncoming death. The author also uses this theme of fantasy vs. reality to show his views on the war. The war that payton sees is one where ordinary civilians can achieve glory without having to sacrifice anything for their cause and without having to live through the gruesome reality that is war. In the same way that Payton’s fantasy of his escape is crushed, his peaceful life and his self-deception about what the world is really like is destroyed. By using these themes Bierce hopes to show the the reader that their ideas about war and fighting are merely reflections of Payton’s own fantasy, and the reality is something that the both of them must eventually

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Time is a powerful device within literature. Authors can change the pace of time or move forward and backwards within time to enhance and empower their work. James Baldwin and Ambrose Bierce, within their stories “Sonny’s Blues” and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, fully embrace their capability to control time. They control time by switching between the present and the past. This allows the readers to see the details of the “past character” and to fully understand the motivation and action behind…

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Ambrose Eerce's Short Stories Of The Civil War

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Words 1371 - Pages 6