Short Stories

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Job #1 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
In Chapter 1 of Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge [By Ambrose Bierce] I found a passage that throws me off... How exactly can he seem to make time slow down that he anticipates with eagerness each one second beat of his watch? Is it just a 'I'm gonna die I'd better make each second count' thing or is it something more...
"And now he became conscious of a new disturbance. Striking through the thought of his dear ones was a sound which he cound neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil; it had the same ringing quality. He wondered what it was, and whether immeasurably distant or near by - it seemed both. Its recurrence was regular, but as slow as the tolling of a death knell. He awaited each stroke with impatience, and - he knew not why - apprehension. The intervals of silence grew progressively longer; the delays became maddening. With their greater infrequency the sounds increased in strength and sharpness. They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared that he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch." [Chapter 1, 2nd paragraph from end]

Job #2 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

The events surrounding this story; how a man desperate to do anything for his country tried to do a brave thing, but was lured into a death trap and killed in a violent manner, remind me of a book I once read about a missionary named Jim Elliot. He was a brave man, and loved God so much that he was willing to become a missionary in a foreign country. He was invited to go to a tribe down in South America, and try to share the Gospel with them. They appeared friendly for a while, and then ambushed him and his friends, slaughtering them ruthlessly in the name of their pagan gods, just as the Federals in the story Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ruthlessly hanged a man in the name of war.

'All is fair in love and war' was the creed of the day, and the Federals fulfilled their creed, but at what cost? At the cost of another man's life. A life that could have shone brightly in history. A life that could have been saved. A god created being was killed in a simple matter, and not even in a straightforward fight that could have earned him honor in his death; he was baited, trapped, and killed like a rat or other common pest that one wants to be disposed of.

Job #3 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Percussion - “Striking through the though of his dear ones was a sound which he could neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer upon the anvil...” [End of Chapter 1]

Manifestations - “Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect...” [Chapter 1]

Ramification - “These pains appeared to flash along well-defined lines of ramification and to beat with an inconceivably rapid periodicity.” [Chapter 3]

Ludicrous - “To die of hanging at the bottom of a river! - the idea seemed to him ludicrous.”

[Chapter 3]

Preternaturally - “They were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert.”

[Chapter 3]

Acclivity – An upward slope.

Chafed – To have made sore by rubbing against an object.

Ramification – A subdivision of a complex chain or process.

Eddies – A movement of water, counter to the main current, that forms a small whirlpool.

Embrasure – A small opening in the parapet of a fortified building, usually used for firing or hurling projectiles through.

 

 

Job #4 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Why did Peyton Farquhar try to burn a bridge occupied by an entire Federal company by himself? He was obviously infatuated with some idea of glory to be gained by doing so, but why? There were pickets posted everywhere, and a company is made up of 100 men. Being outnumbered by that much, why would he even try? Why wouldn't he get some Confederate company or regiment to take out that area instead, seeing that he was highly connected within the Confederate world?

 

 

Job #5 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Washington Irving's writing style, being Romantic/Gothic, was full of food, romance, and fantasy. It was dark and mysterious at the same time though, and this allowed for a good short story. Ambrose Bierce's writing style, being Realistic, was full of descriptions and cold hard fact. However, due to how Bierce used the descriptions and how he only placed fact on areas that needed it made it seem at once very engaging and almost empathetic, and yet cold and heartless. Out of the two writing styles, I prefer Ambrose Bierce's Realism.

In the story of the Headless Horseman, the theme and events of the story are about a strange man that set out to do what he thought possible, guided by irrational thought and irrational fears, and he got what he deserved due to that irrationality. In the story of Owl Creek, the theme and events of the story are about a young gentleman who set out to accomplish the impossible, and suffered for it. It describes exactly what fantasies played through his head as he died. The second is much more bloody, but it demands empathy because it is almost realistic, except for the man being able to dodge bullets and a cannon, and escape from 100 men all the way back home to his wife... It sets a very human figure before the reader. In the first story, there is much more romance and much less blood, but it sets the figures back at a distance, to be observed and not to be pitied, encouraged, etc.