An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary

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Ambrose Bierce’s Life and Times 1 Introduction This report focuses on one of the short stories authored by Ambrose Bierce. To be specific, the argument of this paper is based on evaluation and analysis of Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, a short story book published by Bierce during his times. I will make emphasis on the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” in which I will analyze and evaluate the plot, themes, characters, setting, and stylistic devices used by the author to relay his meaning. By conducting this literary analysis, I will profoundly understand the techniques and thematic choices used by the author to narrate his fiction stories to the reader. Evaluation and Analysis of the Story Plot. Bierce, the author of the story, uses a number of techniques to tell the story to the readers. First, the author uses three sections (I, II, and III) to narrate the story and convey his meaning. Second, Bierce uses flashback in part II of the story so to communicate to the readers about how Farquhar was close to be hanged. According to commandant order, any civilian caught interfering with the bridge, trains, tunnels, or railroad was to be executed (Bierce 13). The Northern soldiers had set up a trap to the character so that he can burn the bridge to break the rules and get hanged. This flashback is critical to…show more content…
This story has characters like Peyton Farquhar, Farquhar’s wife, The Northern Scout, and The Sergeant. Farquhar is the main character of the tale “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” He changes during the course of the story because we see him acting and turning into a two-sided character in the fiction. Along with major characters, minor characters such as Northern Scout, the Commandant, and the Sergeant play a role in plot development. For example, the commandant’s order of executing civilians for destroying the structures influences soldiers to set up the main character so that he can burn the bridge, playing a role in plot
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