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

463 Words2 Pages

Carly Maisel
Coach Pitzer
English III - 4th
10 December 2017
One Last Breath The story takes place during the Civil War, with a southern family man named Peyton Farquhar. He was sentenced to be hanged by the Federal army. “The man’s hands were behind his back, bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck” (Bierce, 1). Because of the damage and tarnish he had done to the bridge this would be Farquhar’s fate. Bierce tells the story in an almost confusing way, by using both back flashes and foreshadowing. In the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce he uses many different literary techniques to amplify the suspense of the text. Symbolism is shown many times in Bierce’s writing. He shows the water as freedom, from death and punishment. In Farquhar’s daydream, he begins to think of a plan. If the rope drops him into the water, only then could he escape. “He knew that the rope had broken and he had fallen into the stream” (Bierce, 4). …show more content…

Peyton Farquhar, enters a deep daydream during the fall, he is imagining what would happen if he was not deceased. His aspiration is that he will receive the freedom to get back home to his wife and children. Farquhar experiences many indications of how he wants his future to turn out. “To die of hanging at the bottom of the river!--the idea seemed to him ludicrous” (Bierce, 4). When Farquhar finally gets loose and is on his journey back home, he was experiencing the pain from his bruised neck. Bierce describes it as “Horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he could no longer close them” (Bierce, 7). He used that word choice to create a vivid picture of what Farquhar was

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He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he could no longer close them. His tongue was swollen with thirst…” (Bierce 12). This too, like the last quote, helps foreshadow that Farquhar is still in the hemp.

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