Peyton's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

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An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge Set during the Civil War, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” has three sections. An opening scene, flashback, and a conclusion that takes place after the opening scene. This short story is a good example of literary realism. It displays nearly every realist characteristic. Typical realist style works exhibit traits such as attention to detail, complex characters who struggle morally, realistic events in life, and detailed descriptions of nature. In the opening scene, the entire focus is on the setting. So much so that the author doesn’t even mention the protagonist's name until the second act. It begins with a condemned man, who is being hanged by the Federal army. The author stated, using verbose descriptions, …show more content…

The narrator writes “He had not known that he lived in so wild a region. There was something uncanny in the revelation.”(613). This foreshadows the ending of the story. Peyton doesn’t know where he is, even though he has lived near Owl Creek presumably much of his life. Like the name suggests, realist writers usually include events that are realistic. The author writes, “Attention, company! . . . Shoulder arms! . . . Ready! . . . Aim! . . . Fire!” (611). Peyton is able to avoid all of the Union army’s fire, even though many soldiers were at the bridge to prevent what he is doing, escaping. While this may seem contradictory to a realist literary work, Peyton’s whole escape was only in his head. The fact that Peyton dreamed about making a unfavorable escape, and it not happening supports the trait of realistic events in realist works. In another example the author states, “Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.”(614). This is yet another instance of a realistic event. It would not have been probable for Peyton to use seemingly superhuman strength to free himself of his restraints, and make it home to his plantation. Instead, he is hanged, with no miracles

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