An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by A. Bierce

One’s decisions reflect his or her thought processes, but one’s reactions will reflect his or her character. Tim O’Brien’s and Norman Bowker’s instinctive responses and post-war experiences prove that war exposes the core of one's identity. In "On the Rainy River," O'Brien reveals his mindset and character before fighting in the war. He views himself to be “too good for the war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything… above it” (O’Brien 45).

We should never try to take superiority that is not granted to us because like victor we shall suffer and perish. He had the opportunity to make a difference in his life and take responsibility as a creator but his selfishness caused him to die alone just like what he had feared.

The shared humanity in war is greater as it is unexpected when men are being slaughtered to find a humane act. As Stephen Crane shows in the novel, The Red Badge of Courage war is a terrifying thing but in its hard times there is share of humanity between the brotherhoods of soldiers that build during war.

Caught in this web of destructive timelessness, men begin to isolate themselves from society, altering their lives catastrophically. The detriment of justice in a state of war results from fear, or the perception of a threat, and th... ... middle of paper ... ...re is a mirror of the scientific idea of natural selection. Those individuals concerned only with their own interests and the perpetuation of their own lives, are much more likely to survive. Hobbes overall statement of war is a brutal one, condemning those who engage in war to be consumed by it. Through ideas of fluctuating morality, justice, and natural tendency, one idea prevails: war stops everything.

Ambrose Bierce’s various shifts deceive readers into believing the protagonist, Peyton Farquhar, has escaped a perilous fate. Readers are confounded as the conflict actualizes with Peyton Farquhar finding himself on a bridge awaiting his execution. Although Farquhar is to be hung, he still manages to keep calm and focused on what is important, his family. However this is where the story makes its first turn as Farquhar’s thoughts are interrupted by the sound of his own watch. The description of the piercing sound is but a small glimpse of the “dream” that is to come.

I think it is clear that the grimly serious nature of the tale, and in particular, the kind of existence that Sarty has. Because of his father 's penchant for barn burning and his clear resistance or conflict with any form of authority, he finds himself cut off from society and isolated. In addition, he has to constantly struggle with his own sense of right and wrong, and whether to disobey his father by revealing his guilt. This is of course what he nearly does at the beginning of the story, and his father realises this, and beats him for it. However, by the end of the story, this is what he decides to do, and we are left with a moving image of Sarty looking up at the constellations above him and then walking away from his father and family, without looking

The narrator also comments on how Roderick seems to stare at nothing and appears to be "listening to some imaginary sound"(Poe, 673). Again, this may be another hint of some evil occurrence yet to happen and Roderick does in fact lose his sanity as well as his life when Madeline reappears before Roderick and the narrator at the end of the story. In conclusion Poe excellent use of characterization and imagery to depict fear and darkness, truly make The Fall of the House of Usher a story of the battles the we must face our fears in order to free our mind.

Although, a short story, Poe creates a nightmare that is almost guaranteed to give his readers a sleepless night. As the ?cask? of Amontillado draws Fortunato into the ?casket?, we get a feeling of our own fear. Bibliography: Poe, Edgar A. The Cask of Amontillado.

Roderick starts to lose his grip on reality and slips even further into the clutches of fear and confusion. This rapid decline in Roderick’s mental health is made evident to the reader through the narrators progressing fear of him and what will come of him in the imminent future. “The ... ... middle of paper ... ...k and escape of the narrator throughout the story with images of neglect such as the “fissure” or “‘crack of doom’” in the House, the “peculiar physical conformation ” of Roderick, and the tremor sitting “upon [the narrators] … heart [like] and incubus”. These are among the many images Poe provides to spark the readers imagination in the way of foreshadowing the ultimate ending of the two characters stories. Works Cited Cook, Jonathan A.

Setting plays a major role in Goodman Brown’s journey to losing his faith. It gives a strong foundation to cause him to doubt what he has always believed in. Once he leaves his wife at the beginning of the story, he goes into a dark and scary forest at night. No normal human being would go into such a place alone at night if there was no reason to. The forest contains plants and animals, but it is not full of life.