Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is a short story. The story begins with a man from the confederate states named Peyton Farquhar. It is broken down in three parts: Part one being about Peyton preparing to get executed on the bridge. Part two is about how Farquhar is a successful planter and wanted to help the confederates. He met with a soldier to talk about what he could do to help the south. It turns out the soldier was from the north. The last part takes place back in the present with Farquhar preparing to get hung. He imagines himself breaking free of the ropes and jumping in the water below while soldiers fired their guns at him. He escaped but quickly woke up to the reality of his dead body hanging from Owl Creek

This type of point of view was evident when the man’s thoughts were expressed “He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children.”(Bierce 863). Bierce made it obvious that omniscient was the point of view being used because he told the reader about the thoughts and feelings of the main character, Peyton Farquhar. This type of point of view is powerful in the use of this story because this story was about his illusion seeming like a reality. The narration affected the story by showing readers the blurred line between Farquhar’s illusion against his

The two that were used quite frequently were personification and similes. We see personification used when Bierce writes that “the railroad ran straight away into a forest for a hundred yards, then, curving, was lost to view” (Bierce 861). This gave the effect that the railroad continued for a long time after the bridge. The second language device used was simile. This seen when Bierce Writes that, “The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara” (Bierce 865). Ambrose is trying to describe how loud the water is by comparing it to one of the largest waterfalls in the world. The sound is almost deafening at this