Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a suspenseful story about the reality of time and death during the United States Civil War. Bierce divided the story into three sections to tell the story of Peyton Farquhar’s life and how he would be hanged by Union soldiers. Farquhar was a wealthy slave owner who, supported the southern cause because he wanted to maintain his lifestyle. However, after a confrontation with a Union soldier dressing as a confederate soldier,…

The various Civil War stories of Ambrose Bierce look at autonomy from two perspectives supported or suppressed. In two of Bierce’s stories “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Horseman in the Sky”, both suppressed autonomy. Autonomy affected the characters in some sort of death or loss of a loved one. In one of Bierce’s stories “Occurrence at Owl Creek bridge” it starts off with a man stood upon a railroad bridge ,looking down twenty feet below above water. His wrists were tied together by…

The film version of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce is almost identical to the story in its characters and plot. However, the two differ in many ways with regard to visual imagery and delivery. For example, the film adaptation begins with an insert of a poster warning of execution if one is caught “interfering with the railroad bridges, tunnels, or trains.” In the story, a soldier comes up to Peyton Farquhar and his wife to deliver this very message. Another difference is not…

Significance of the Title Have you ever thought that a story might be really spooky based on the title, but you find out that it actually is not. Sometimes the title is not a misnomer when it does this, but it is the reader that misinterprets it. In Ambrose Bierce’s, “An Occurrence on Owl Creek Bridge,” the title leads the reader to believe that it is about a bridge with a haunting story to tell. What is so special about the title that it leads one to believe that; what was the “occurrence,”…

Authors often use their stories as commentaries to convey the societal shortcomings of their societies. Hence, they also promote an alteration in social and or personal values. Evidently the commentary revealed throughout the works of Ambrose Bierce, Shirley Jackson, and Tim O’Brien is the fear of being a social outcast, which then alters the values within the characters present in the stories. In the short story On the Rainy River the protagonist of the story Tim O’Brien is faced with…

yes. In fact, Bierce conveys a harsh and vituperative attitude towards the military and war throughout the entire story. Bierce took special effort to highlight the unfavorable qualities of the military. Throughout the entire story, there were instances filled with military mishaps. The sharpshooters that missed a motionless target from a mere few hundred yards. The cannon that seemed to have nearly struck Fahrquhar in the head and did no damage to the man…

upernatural Experiences In, "Army Apparitions," Alan Moore informs his audience about ghost stories that are related to the military. In the text, "Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories," Ambrose Bierce tells his audience of paranormal activity that has happened in all of the ghost stories. Some of the stories are related to the spirits of the dead, and the other ghost stories are related to the disappearances of the living souls. The implied message in the, "Army Apparitions," text…

The short story by Ambrose Bierce “An Occurrence at Owl Creek” brings up many interesting ideas and topics about death and dying. In the story a man was condemned to death because he intended to assist the confederacy but was captured by union soldiers. The story focused around the man who seemed to have escaped death because the rope snapped. As soon as it appeared that he had avoided death reality cut in and his neck broke. The story ended to his limb body hanging. This “occurrence” is…

"A Horseman in the Sky" is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce. It tells of a young man from the south who had enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War. One day, he found himself in a situation where he had to kill a Confederate soldier, his father. "War" is a short story written by Jack London, about a young man in war who had the opportunity to kill an enemy soldier, but didn't. The same man ended up killing him. Both of the main characters in these short stories had opportunities…

In the story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, Ambrose Bierce tells a story about a man named Peyton Farquhar and his tragic death. Personally I do feel some sympathy for Peyton for what happened but is was no one else’s fault but his own that he ended up hanging from a noose. I do not feel as bad because Peyton was warned about the soldiers and that any trespassers would be hung before attempting to approach the Owl Creek Bridge. I think he thought he was going to be able to get away with…