The Literature Network - "Something uncanny": the dream structure in Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

"Something uncanny": the dream structure in Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

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From: Studies in Short Fiction
Date: 19930622
Author:Stoicheff, Peter

Ambrose Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' may owe its popularity to its realistic portrayal of a dream-state. The story's structure is psychologically realistic due to the weaving of external stimuli into the dream world of its protagonist, Farquhar. Each motion associated with Farquhar's hanging can be seen affecting the dream he and the reader are immersed in until the very last part of the story. Bierce's story is analyzed in relation to the dream theories of his day.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" has received more critical attention than any other single work by ...

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