Job #3 - Literature Connections (Compare & Contrast)

I know some information about Washington Irving's short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", but because I am not in the afternoon Lit class, I didn't read it. However, I actually did read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), which was also a book assignment for Lit class. Therefore, I am choosing to compare and contrast the latter author's writing style to that of Ambrose Bierce's, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

Compare & Contrast - Twain & Bierce:


"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain:

(Contrast): Twain's book about Huck Finn is written through the eyes of a child and before the Civil War broke out. He depicts much through humor, which makes it lighthearted. Although he uses realism through the logical Huck, he also represents Romanticism through Tom and his scheme-filled adventures. There are many noteworthy features in his book including the characters and plot. One thing I particularly find interesting and unique is that despite Huck's consistent way of lying to get out of trouble, he tries to make an effort to change, and he sincerely values people who have set moral standards for themselves. Deep down he truly means well even when he purposely plays tricks on those around him :)


"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce:

(Contrast): Bierce's short story is portrayed during the Civil War, which intensifies it. He offers lots of descriptive details, but is also very ambiguous. The theme of the story is based upon realism by portraying specific events instead of the character's feelings on those events. Because his journey for escape was a hallucination or dream, he was able to use those unrealistic events to magnify the unfortunate reality in the end. In the hallucination, he is able to convince the reader it is real, but he drops subtle hints to prove that it's not. He also uses the escape journey as a double meaning for the journey to his death. I think that some of the noteworthy features in this story is the unique structure of how the story was written, the ambiguity of it, the hallucination as a whole, and the abrupt surprise ending, since it all allows for much analysis.


Twain & Bierce:

(Compare): Both authors were known for their use of realism, satire, and detailed description. Literary realism strives to depict an America as it really is, unfettered by Romanticism, and is often cruel or harsh in its reality; it is the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is, and being prepared to deal with it accordingly. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Job #2 - Thinking Question

Chapter 2

"Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family. Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause. Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction. That opportunity, he felt, would come, as it comes to all in war time. Meanwhile he did what he could. No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war."

Why couldn't Peyton Farquhar fight as a soldier if he had the ability and urge to perform other risky deeds (such as an attempt to sabotage the bridge) for the Southern cause?

Job #1 - Line Illuminator

Unfortunately I didn't print off my homework until today, so I totally forgot I was supposed to post an assignment over the weekend. After glancing at all of my literature circle's discussions, I also realize you already started discussing topics I had wondered about :) However, I believe the ending passages to be of significance too.

Chapter 3: Quote & Explanation

   "By nightfall he was fatigued, footsore, famishing. The thought of his wife and children urged him on. At last he found a road which led him in what he knew to be the right direction...

   His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it...

   Doubtless, despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he sees another scene - perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium. He stands at the gate of his own home. All is as he left it, and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine. He must have traveled the entire night. As he pushes open the gate and passes up the wide white walk, he sees a flutter of female garments; his wife, looking fresh and cool and sweet, steps down from the veranda to meet him. At the bottom of the steps she stands waiting, with a smile of ineffable joy, an attitude of matchless grace and dignity. Ah, how beautiful she is! He springs forward with extended arms. As he is about to clasp her he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a canon - then all is darkness and silence!

   Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge."

I picked the ending of the story, because all stories increase in intensity and confusion up until the ending, and then they are explained, resolved, or concluded as a whole. Throughout the story, I was slightly confused on the whole escape part, but I didn't realize it was all a dream until I found out he was dead. I was caught up in the drama and hope for his escape that I didn't notice or understand all of the clues of the unrealistic happenings.

I believe this to be significant, because it involves the motivation of his mindset and inward struggle. The whole dream and struggle of escaping he described so vividly could have been referring to how he felt and what he was thinking or wishing would happen right before he died from suffocation. Because he ended up dying, his escape was a dream. But why was it a dream? If he cared so much about his family, why wasn't he willing to risk the death of being shot over the death of being hanged and drowned if the risk of being shot meant he had another chance to live and be with his family? Also, maybe the relief of seeing his safe home and happy wife in his dreams allowed him to finally give in to death.

Intro to Blog & Topic

I'm a 2017 senior who is entering the world of blogging for a co-op highschool literature assignment. If you ever have trouble sleeping at night, reading my blog will be your sleep remedy. So goodnight all ;)

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
Written by: Ambrose Bierce