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Imagery In 'An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge'

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Ambrose Bierce displays writing skills in the short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” that create an unforgettable tale. By using key literary devices, he takes the reader through an emotional journey. Imagery, prominently displayed throughout the story causes the reader to immerse themselves in their imagination, causing the largest effect on the audience. Within this imagery, Bierce includes symbolism to further enhance the text. Through it, he not only uses imagery to create a world, but he also creates an attachment to the characters. All of which, play into the plot, resulting in the impactful twist ending. In Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the total effect of imagery conveys evocative sensory details that …show more content…

Throughout the story the author builds upon the protagonist, Peyton Farquhar. This character adds complexity to the text and creates tension. The story states, “He [Farquhar] closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children” (23). In this sentence the reader starts to feel sorry for the man. If Farquhar dies, then he will leave his wife a widow, and his children fatherless. Another example states, “‘To be hanged and drowned,’ he thought, ‘that is not so bad; but I do not wish to be shot. No; I will not be shot; that is not fair’” (26). These thoughts show the reader determination and bravery. Death does not scare this man, and his sense of survival makes the reader hopeful. The text also states, “He stands at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine. He must have traveled the entire night” (30). At this point in the story, Farquhar escapes the grasp of death and travels back to his home. The author includes imagery such as “bright” and “morning sunshine” to give the story a sense of peace and comfort. The author fools the reader with a sense of resolve and victory; however, Bierce soon reveals what truly happens. “ Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge” (31). Because of the descriptive characterization, this final sentence has an unforgettable

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Farquhar gets captured by the Union troops and he realizes that he’s going to die from getting hanged. Meanwhile, the noose is around Farquhar neck and he starts to daydream about the possibility of noose breaking and falling into the creek. He then escapes the Union troops, and finds himself back home where his wife awaits him. As soon as he tries to embrace his wife he is forced back into reality by being hanged.

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The imagery that Connell creates in The Most Dangerous Game captivates the audience into a tale that makes one’s heart stop even for a split second. The feelings of suspense are nearly tangible to the reader when the silence of the writing surrounds them. Additionally, the two contradicting moods are easily flowed through together and yet discreetly set apart due to Connell’s use of imagery in various scenes. Despite all the other literary devices used within The Most Dangerous Game, imagery has to be the element that really allows the emotions of the literary piece to connect to its

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Through vivid imagery, the audience gets to experience the emotions that Staples and the pedestrians had. Staples pulls the readers from being mere spectators of the experiences he has had directly into the shoes of the pedestrians and Staples himself. Thus, the audience becomes more prone to sympathize with Staples’ situation. Furthermore, readers gain a deeper understanding of how real and common the problem that Staples addresses in his essay is. The emotions portrayed by the strong imagery not only garners sympathy, it may help readers relate better to Staples’ essay.

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Farquhar stands on the bridge, hands tied and able to see all that's around him. He stands over the river thinking of his family and the possibility of escaping. He begins to fall into the river and tries to make his way home escaping death. He finally arrives home with

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Literary analysis of “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” Ambrose Bierce, the Author of “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” about a man who was being hanged, throughout the story Peyton hallucinates and thinks that he has escaped the hanging but in reality he’s dying. Bierce uses symbolism in “ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” to foreshadow that Peyton is going to die. There are multiple allusions throughout the story that Bierce used to convey the death of Peyton. Imagery is used throughout the entire story to show that Peyton is hallucinating. Throughout the entire story Bierce uses multiple literary techniques to foreshadow Peyton’s death.

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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" begins with the capture of the protagonist Peyton Farquhar, a plantation and slave owner. Bierce paints a vivid picture of the surroundings around Farquhar as he awaits to be hanged. It then flashes back to the days leading up to the hanging. Where Farquhar was deceived by a federal spy claiming to be a confederate soldier. In the end, we see Farquhar escape from reality as he is serving his sentence to finally his demise.

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Throughout life, we all go through rough moments where we think all is lost. However, we as humans always grow from these experiences and turn into beings with a new awakening and understanding of the world. In a passage from The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, the narrator describes a striking ordeal, in which a man is coping with the death of a she-wolf. Despite the cause of death being left ambiguous, this dramatic experience has a vivid effect on the main character—causing him to change and grow into a new man by the end of the passage. McCarthy uses eloquent and expressive diction to create imagery which gives the reader an understanding of the narrator’s experience, supplemented by spiritual references as well as setting changes, elucidating the deep sadness and wonder felt by the protagonist.

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In literary terms foreshadowing is a method by which the author uses specific verbiage in a story to tell, or foreshadow, what is going to happen. The reader may feel as if they know what is going to happen before they read it, they could feel like a clairvoyant or that they are having a déjà vu experience. Ambrose Bierce’s story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has instances of foreshadowing that allude to the death of Peyton Farquhar before the story reaches the climactic point of telling of his fate. The first instance of foreshadowing is when Peyton Farquhar thinks that he can escape the hangman’s noose and swim home.

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However, one also used this same strategy as a way to deviate from reality, while the other used it as a way to face reality. Imagery was used to illustrate that An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’s Peyton

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The story is written in a way that makes you believe the main character is alive and free, but in reality you are reading the last wishes of a dead man. The ending definitely caught me by surprise due to author’s efforts in playing with the main character’s point of view. I think the author also performed well with descriptive words as I could paint the scenes in my head like the, “...whirled on with a velocity of advance and gyration which made him giddy and sick” and “...the abrasion of one of his hands on the gravel...” (Bierce 604). The use of this imagery also helped the author convey the illusion of fantasy and

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The concept of “The Hero’s Journey” plays a major role in nearly every piece of fiction humanity has created since its inception, from epic poems to blockbuster movies. In many ways, works of fiction and some pieces of nonfiction could not exist and would not make sense without the concept of a Hero’s Journey; it allows the reader to comprehend and follow the progression of characters over the course of the story. While Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road may not display most of the archetypal qualities found in classic Hero’s Journeys such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, it most clearly exemplifies the qualities of a Hero’s Journey through the Boy’s character in relation to the mentor, tests and enemies, and the

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In conclusion, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” demonstrates several foreshadowing techniques to predict Farquhar’s fate, such as imagery and preternatural plot elements. The preternatural ability to hear a watch ticking at a vociferous volume reveals that Farquhar was simply imagining that his time is ticking away. Also, the use of imagery when he is unnaturally describing the distant trees in great detail shows that he is dreaming about that as well and not living in reality, so he has not escaped the fact that he will die in real

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The author of the story, Ambrose Bierce used a vital technique in writing this story to get readers to feel like they are a part of the story. Ambrose Bierce uses imagery in this story

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The narrator then proceeds to show Robert what a cathedral looks like by taking his hand and drawing a cathedral on “a shopping bag with onion skins in the the bottom of the bag.” (Carver 110) . Through this bricolage, the narrator closes his eyes and has an epiphany, for in this moment where his eyes are closed, hands intertwined, he truly sees, and “ ‘It’s really something,” (Carver 135). It’s the minimalistic approach that prefaces this big event that really showcases the theme. Carver’s use of colloquial language, in creation of an increasingly relatable scene allows for the reader to empathize with the narrator, allowing for a much stronger impact when the epiphany occurs and the story’s theme has been

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