Owl Creek Bridge Realism

Storytelling has been an ongoing tradition that has positively impacted society. Nobody knows when the first story was told, it has gone astray in the mist of time, but it has become a tradition that is still practiced. Storytelling binds and defines humanity, humans are perhaps the only animals that create and tell stories. There is a wide selection of stories that may possibly be articulated, and a wider selection of stories to be generated. Ambrose Bierce created a story that is truthful and emphasizes the real details of life, no softening. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a story that explains the traumatic experience of a soldier, seeing his life flash before his eyes, while being hung. Realism is a careful description of mundane
aspects of life represented in a matter-of-fact manner that is presumed to reflect life as it actually is; the writing style that Bierce employs. Bierce creates the horrors and ugliness of war in his work. Secondly, regionalism and local color aid in the understanding of the plot and how it came to be. And, lastly, Bierce explains in gritty detail the death of Peyton Farquhar. It is evident that An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce, is a work better classified as Realism.

The horrors and ugliness of war is revealed in Bierce’s work. The story transverses in Northern Alabama during the Civil War. Bierce shares to light how during times of war anything can occur with no judgement or interruption. His work is about a soldier trying to choose if burning a bridge that separates the two sides is a sound decision. There are soldiers patrolling the bridge, oblivious to what is occurring in the middle. They are all dressed in their uniforms and have their rifles in the position known as “support”. Bierce’s descriptions of the positioning of the soldiers and the way they hold their guns shows the brutality of war. He also shares to light that during times of war a life will be taken in the matter of seconds: “The sergeant stepped aside”. This quote shows that in a manner of a second, life would be taken without a thought. The emotion of remorse is never present during war because one has to end lives at any second. War has many casualties and tragedies present, a quality that Bierce portrays. He illustrates the hardships that everyone has to overcome in times of war. Ambrose Bierce takes his place among the writers that does not avoid the war’s horrific nature.

Not only is the ugliness of war present, local color also allows for the work to be categorized as Realism.
In this story, the setting is a bridge separating the territory under control of the Union Army from territory recently held by the South. The bridge, countryside, and Farquhar's home are all described realistically. The author notes the exact layout of the bridge and setup. This is apparent since the opening of the story: "Some loose boards laid upon the sleepers supporting the metals of the railway supplied a footing for him and his executioners". Regionalism allows for the reader to know the area, but also to become familiarized with the landscape. This permits for the reader to be aware of what is occurring, but also associate with it. This is attributable because the reader notices the real situations and can feel the pain. Also, terminology permits for local color to be present, “The Yanks are repairing the railroads”. With exact terminology and diction established, a recognizable aurora is given. The story plot feels more real, telling it how it is. Bierce employs the technique of diction to elucidate to the audience that Peyton is a regular man. This permits for the reader to connect and feel as the story is real. If the characters dialect in a real notion, then the audience feels closer and can argue that the story is actually real. Ambrose Bierce use of local color and regionalism allows for the classification of Realism to be
appropriate.

Perhaps the reason why this story is best categorized as realistic lies upon the gritty details of Peyton Farquhar’s death. Peyton Farquhar, the protagonist, is a citizen in the South during the Civil War. Bierce precisely describes the complicated series of beams, planks, and ropes needed to hang Farquhar. Captured by Union soldiers and hung for treason, the death of Farquhar is described in obscene measures. “At a signal from the former, the latter would step aside, the plank would tilt, and the condemned man go between two ties” is stated right before the death of Peyton. He makes it evident how much pain Farquhar is in and wants the audience to envision being in his shoes. Bierce narrates the fast death of Peyton, although he uses immense details. “He feels a stunning blow upon the back of his neck, a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of cannon” is how Ambrose Bierce describes Farquhar’s death. These details invoke the suffrage that Peyton had to stand. This shows that there is no remorse in ending a life. Bierce also does not flower the death of Peyton, he tells us how it is. He allows the audience to know how someone dies, rather than just state that he died. Ambrose Bierce explains the true revulsions that death is. By invoking the gritty details of execution, Bierce participates in a realist tradition.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge fits nicely into the Realism movement of American literature.
Realistic stories often have unhappy endings and the story plot is unsympathetically real. Bierce produces the horrors of war, regionalism and local color aid in the comprehension of the plot and, lastly, Bierce explains in gritty details the death of Peyton Farquhar. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce illustrates the malice in the world. He gives the insight to problems people might face every day and allow for one to connect to those problems. Bierce demonstrates the realization that the real world is never truly fair. People die while others live; this is essentially what life is. Bierce short-story allows for one to realize that everyone has similar problems. In the end, Realism allows for a truthful testament of life to be shared. In the end, being able to relate to stories leaves a bigger impact on a
person.