Sentence Analysis of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

The short story, an occurrence at owl creek bridge has some really powerful themes and is a very highly regarded work for several reasons. I believe the twist ending is the most important aspect of this story. I would really like to cover the second to last sentence where your understanding of the story really takes a sharp turn for the worst. Just as you thought our protagonist is simply free he is woken up by the white light of death. This opens such a wide variety of discussions. However all correlate to the one theme that there is no winning in war, there is no glory or satisfaction. This story makes you question the value of life like no other, in terms of morality and logic it truly does reinforce this message. 

“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 cannon--then all is darkness and silence!” This is one of the last sentences in the story however I find them to be the most important and are the sentences that make the story something more recognizable as well as give it a twist. The story would not be anything like it is without the twist at the end. The story is recognizable for this for a few reasons. What I find really powerful with this story is the empathy it makes you feel. You are so happy this man has escaped certain doom, in fact so much so you are enthralled by his almost movie scene of an escape. He was dodging bullets, swimming, running, and working himself to the brink of exhaustion just for survival. At the end of this miraculous escape, you see the man returning to his wife, and you think all is normal however in the next sentence he dies. Surely he was safe and had escaped his demise. However you soon realize the movie scene escape is exactly as it was, a fraud, a feign of reality, a hallucination. Some would say his life flashed before his eyes. However, you see how important this line was to the story. If this didn't happen it would be a boring cliche escape scene. 


Another thing that isn't really talked about in this story is the fact that the reader is pushed so hard to feel empathy for the man. However, the man is a despicable man. He is a slave owner, and is on the side of the confederates, in fact attempting to tamper with the railroad. Which is the primary reason he is being hung. I think the author did a really good job with this sort of making the reader feel something. You familiarize yourself with this otherwise awful man. You start to root for him and want him to make it out and escape the sort of bad guys in the situation. I'm sure most readers forget he was a slave owner, and most readers they want the people portrayed to live. When he gets ended in a matter of seconds and the reader realizes it is all a hallucination you are forced to think back. In the process of doing so, you remember the reality of the situation and are now conflicted. That is why I find this to be one of the best stories we have read in this class, the morals of nothing being good in war, that the death of others no matter what side you're on is bad and the fact that it makes you question and conflict morality in your mind is a really powerful thing. We see the “good guys” as we learn in school to be the bad guys due to it being from a different perspective you get a whole new story. Seeing things from all sides, and thinking through everything is the message I think the author wanted to portray. 

Comments

  1. Andrea_TorelliMay 2, 2022 at 1:17 PM

    Wow this is a great post! I think you make a strong argument about how the plot twist that takes place at the end is what really makes the story. I agree with you that one of the most powerful things about the story is how it makes you root for the main character, who, to most people, is not a good person. Despite knowing all of the horrible things about the main guy the story still makes us root for his escape, because everyone wants to see someone do the "impossible" and beat death. You do a good job of supporting all of your points and I love the sentences that you chose to analyze to build up your argument. Good work!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Question About Blood Child's Theme

Octavia Butler's "Blood Child" is a truly disturbing and grotesque story. However, a theme of slavery and abusive control is largely present and is the basis for the story. Nevertheless, Octavia insists the story is not about an almost enslavement of the Terran, and more of a love story. I question how it's not about slavery and control and more of a love story. We are shown two main species. Terran and Tlic, are on an alien planet that the Tlic inhabit. The Tlic are spider/centipede/scorpion-esk creatures. They have a “symbiotic” relationship, meaning a mutually beneficial relationship between different animals. of the Terran helping the Tlic and the Tlic helping the Terran for their own goals. However this couldn't be less true, this story is about the Tlic enslavement of the Terran. The Tlic force the Terran to be a host for their larva/eggs, in which they grow in your body and eventually you must remove them or die. The Tlic are much larger and stronger than t...
Read more

Memories with Queso

Image
Write a detailed portrait of a particular animal or object (but not the subject of your Natural History Essay). Use specific, concrete nouns and strong, active verbs to bring this animal or object to life for your reader.      For the last 3 years, I have been blessed to live with my 3 years and a half old westie (Western Highland Terrier). His name is Queso or Cheese in English. He is a very short bone color dog with a pitch-black nose and eyes and oversized ears. I have an overabundance of memories just in the short time we have lived together. So I thought I would share some with you. I would first like to give a little bit of context as to who is Queso? It is very hard to summarize him into just a few words. I would probably call him a cat in a dog's body. I know it sounds strange however it's never been closer to the truth. He fully embodies all the characteristics one, from sleeping over half the day to his sometimes sociable and loving nature to being completely un...
Read more

Analyzing "The Machine Stops"

2. Sentence Analysis The short story "The Machine Stops" has been remarkably consistent with its predictions since it has been written in 1909. In specific and arguably the best-predicted aspect of the future is the countless strikingly accurate depictions of the effects of covid on the world. After analyzing just the first sentence in the story I realized that I could connect it to the current pandemic and its effects on people. In the dystopian society, we are shown a world in which people have moved underground due to some unknown reasons, however, we are to assume it was due to pollution or societal collapse. The story does an incredible job at exaggerating the possible outcomes of the pandemic and describing what true social collapse will look like in isolation as well as the overwhelming fear of technology and its power. Given the time period that this story was written in, fear of technology was booming as well as technological advancements. Causing people like the aut...
Read more