Literary Devices- An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge

Literary devices are a collection of artistic structures frequently employed by writers to enrich and enhance the works of literature. They give meaning, emotion and a logical framework to writings through language. The short story ‘’An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’’ composed in 1891 by Ambrose Bierce incorporates many linguistic techniques. The irony, the flashbacks and the foreshadowing influence the reader’s perceptions throughout the story.

First of all, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines irony as ‘’a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other’s false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning’’. In other words, it is the opposite of what is expected. In the short story ‘’An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’’, irony appears when Peyton Farquhar imagines he is escaping. He goes through a whole series of hopes and fear yet ends up having his neck broken by the hanging just when he thinks he has reached the safety of his home and family. It also occurs when Peyton Farquhar imagines that he is living a long period of time while he was escaping, when he only had a matter of seconds to live. The length of his life was measured by the amount of slack in the rope.

Secondly, a flashback is a passage in a story to an earlier time that interrupts the normal chronological order of events. The flashback in Ambrose Bierce’s short story is the backstory of how and why Farquhar came to be at the Owl Creek Bridge. The information given in the flashback is needed in order for the reader to better understand the character and the present day. This develops more sympathy for Farquhar and a greater understanding of his act to try to burn the bridge. The readers learn that he was tricked into undertaking a military mission to prevent the Northern troops from crossing the bridge. This flash from the past makes it more believable that Farquhar just might have had escaped and was able to reach his home. It is so convincing that the reader is more shocked by the ending of the story.

Thirdly, when an author hints what is to come to avoid disappointment or just to arouse readers it is called foreshadowing. Clocks are often used as symbols for time. Early in the story, while awaiting his execution, Peyton hears a loud sound. ‘’Striking through the thought 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…’’. Being at regular intervals at first, the period of silence between the strikes steadily grow longer. The author made the metallic tick of the watch equivalent to a death knell. As the ticks of the watch gets slower and slower, Peyton Farquhar’s perception of time becomes disoriented. Bierce uses subtly instances of foreshadowing to gesture the gap between reality and illusion that widens throughout the story. Moreover, in the third part of the short story, there is a description of Farquhar falling straight downward through the bridge, losing consciousness and ‘’was as one already dead’’. With that hint, the author is able to prepare the reader for the ending.

Finally, the irony, the flashback and the foreshadowing allow the story to be more captivating. It is with these literary devices that the author conveys meaning in ‘’An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’’. When employed properly, the different

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