occurrence at owl creek bridge, bierce

personification

situation: the lieutenants and soldiers are preparnig for farquhar's hanging

personification: Death is personified as a dignitary (someone who recieves respect). It brings up the realist idea that people are victims of their environment. As death approaches towards people, it is the duty of society to become more respectful and humble.

occurrence at owl creek bridge, bierce

distorted reality

situation:  Farquar is about to be hanged but his perceptions become distorted and he imagines himself falling into the water, then freeing himself and begins to float upwards in "pain"

explanation: As Farquar is being hanged, his senses become acute and his perceptions become distorted.  His mind begins to imagine situations that are not really happening but in a physical sense, are taking place.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Bierce 

Romantic Ideals are Foolish

Situation: The author is describing Farquar and his longing to join the Confederate army. He believes it to be a great service to the South. Farquar wants to do the “glorious” deeds of a soldier.

Explanation: Farquar has a glorious and noble picture of war in his mind when being a soldier is the opposite. He fails to realize that war is a terrible thing, which people may die from.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Bierce

Distorted Reality

Situation: Farquar is about to be hanged and his perceptions becomes distorted. He imagines that he has escaped and bullets are being shot at him when he is in the river.

Explanation: The “rising sheet of water” that crashes upon him and “strangles” him is really the noose around his neck. His perceptions are distorted in imagining the situation with a different state of mind.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Distorted Reality

Situation: As he is being hanged, Farquar begins to think about his family and hears a sound which he finds "disturbing" and "paced out equally with a ringing tone"; his watch. His perceptions become distorted as he waits to be hung

Explanation: Farquar is about to die, his senses become more acute while his perceptions become more distorted and therefore, the sound of his watch is amplified and more noticeable. His senses amplify by his near death.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; Bierce

 victim of enviornment by heredity

Situation: Although Farquar is phyiscally hanging from a rope, he imagines that he is underwater and is trying to free himself from the rope.

Explanation: Farquar is a victim to the environment because his instincts take over. Naturally, Farquar's insticts tell him to free himself to escape the rope and therefore, he tries.

Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge; Bierce

Distorted Reality

Situation: 

Farquar is about to be hanged when his senses become more acute and his perceptions distorted.

Explanation: Farquar’s reality is distorted when he begins to describe the things he sees in vivid descriptions. He talks about the trees and the insects in great detail. His perceptions are distorted in his time of near death.

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge; Bierce

Distorted Reality 

Situation: Farquar is about to be hanged and his senses become more acute while his perceptions become more distorted.

Explanation: Farquar begins to vividly imagine and describe the images of nature that he sees such as the trees and the forests. In reality, Farquar's perceptons get distorted as his death comes near.

A wound gives strange dignity to him who bears it. Well men shy...

Episode of War; Crane

Victim of enviornment by Human Condition 

Situation: The lieutenant has just been shot and the soldiers gather around him to help him yet remain hesitant to touch him

Explanation: It is the human nature to fear  "unknown" things such as death and "shy away". The men in this case, fear for their mortality.

Episode of war; Crane

Victim of enviornment by human condition

Situation: After the lietenant is shot and the men gather around him trying to help him, one man attempts to assist him and recieves a facial expression of helplessness from the lieutenant. 

Explanation:

The lieutenant's helplessness victimizes him. He is the victim of chance (the fact that he, out of all soldiers, was hit) and wounded. 

Episode of War; Crane

Paradox

Situation: The lieutenant is in search of a hospital and asks the stragglers who assist him and also vividly recount the details of the battle.

Explanation:Although the stragglers are not directly affiliated with the war, they are able to see all that the soliders cannot.

“He was on the verge of a great triumph in mathematics…when…”

LITERARY 

Episode of War; Crane

Irony

the irony of the situation is that the lieutenant is shot at the most unexpected time--the resting period. He is not fighting in the war yet he is shot. His initial reaction also serves to be ironic because at first, in shock, he assumed one of his own men had shot him.

“He was on the verge of a great triumph in mathematics…when…”

PASSAGE 

Episode of War; Crane

Victim of Enviornment by chance

Situation: The lieutenant is not fighting in the war. Instead, he is involved with his coffee beans yet somehow, manages to get shot.

 Explanation: By chance,the lieutenant was at the given spot of the attack and unluckily was shot. Although it was him who was shot, it could have been anyone.

Episode of War; Crane 

Irony

Surgeon is passing by, notices the lieutenant and greets him properly then notices his injury and changes his character.

Ironic because after seeing an injured man, one would feel sympathy yet the surgeon showed no emotion and instead, showd disdain towards the lietenant and his job while having to amputate another man's body part.

Episode of War; Crane

Victim of Enviornment by forces of nature

Situation: the lieutenant returns home to his family to see them in remorse over his lost arm yet acts indifferent towards his loss.

Explanation: The lieutenant accepts his fate of having to live with one arm and realizes that it was merely a reality of war and also accepts that he cannot escape the natural forces that occur in war.

Horseman in the Sky; Bierce

Victim of Enviornment by Duty

Situation: Carter, as a Confederate soldier, is expected to kill any "enemy" that comes his way. Ironically, the enemy is his father and as he readies himself to shoot him, he recalls his father's words.

Explanation: Carter is put into a situation where he must choose to fufill his duty as a son and his duty as a soldier. The conflicting roles of the two clash together and ultimately, choose his action

Horseman in the Sky; Bierce

Distorted Reality

Situation: While standiing on the base of a cliff, a confederate soldier looks into the sky and sees what appears to be a flying horseman.

Explanation: Due to the angle he was looking at, the vision of the 'flying horseman' is distorted. While looking from the base of the cliff, it appeared as if the horseman was flying yet, looking from a further view, the horseman was falling. 

Horseman in the sky; bierce

victim of enviornment by duty

situation: Carter is about to shoot his father but at the same time, questions his decision in doing so and for personal verification, justifies his decision.

explanation: carter's role as a soldier interferes with his role as a son and he is put in a position where he must fail one in order to be loyal to the other. 

horseman in the sky; bierce

victim of enviornment by duty

situation: after realizing that his father is the enemy, he understands what he has to do and quicky shoots him.

explanation: although carter was forced to shoot his own father, the rules enforced by society restrict him from initiating any threat upon the army. In this case, his father served as a threat and therefore, he was forced to kill him.

Horseman in the sky; bierce

victim of enviornment by society

 situation: although he believed his duty as a soldier must be served, the interference of carters role as a son caused him to become hesitant and in attempt to create a balance between the roles, he shot the horse but soon realized that he must shoot his father.

explanation: ultimately, carters duty as a soldier defeats his duty as a son. society dictates that a soldier must shoot at the enemy and by initially shooting at the horse, Carter felt as if he did not completely fail his duties.

horseman in the sky; bierce

victim of enviornment by society

situation:Carter tells his father that he wants to join the union army and his father is unsupportive of his decision and tells his son that he is a traitor to Virginia but he must go on with the duties he believes are to be his. 

explanation: the duties of both soliders, father and son, interefere in their relationship by creating a barrier and ultimately, overpower their roles within the family 

“Those whose eyes twenty-five and more years before had seen the glory of the coming of the Lord...”

LITERARY 

of the meaning of progress; dubois

allusion to the battle song of the civil war depicting the african american generation that witnessed slavery and the civil war.

due to all that they have seen, the generation has lost all hope for "progress" or racial equality.  

“Those whose eyes twenty-five and more years before had seen the glory of the coming of the Lord...”

message 

of the meaning of progress- dubois

Man is a victim of enviornment by society, heredity, and natural forces.

situation: dubois discusses the different generations within the community. this particular generation has experienced the war, slavery, and "freedom". The hymn refers to the generation that they lived in.

explanation: this generation is a victim of enviornment by heredity because of their dark skin color. they are victims of enviornment by natural forces due to the unchanged, fatalistic status in society that they have. they are victims of evniornment by soctiety due to racial inequality such as segregation.

of the meaning of progress- dubois

symbolism

he is in the company of white folk and is forced to eat alone.

the veil symbolizes the racial segregation experienced by the African Americans. In DuBois' case, although he was assisted by the white commissioner, the "shadow of the veil" remained. 

of the meaning of progress; dubois

metaphor

dubois is concluding his visit and leaves the reader pondering about the progression of african americans

just as darkness is present with twilight, and light is present with dawn, the black people too will experience either light or darkness.

of the meaning of progress- dubois

romantic ideals are foolish

Situation: Josie's story is being told and her passion for learning is focused upon.

Explanation: although josie initially believes that all her dreams will come true and that she will be successful and happy, in reality, her life is the complete opposite; Her dreams are left in complete and she dies a broken heart. Romantically, you would be able to follow your dreams and live a happy life.

and their weak wings beat against their barriers-- barriers of caste, of youth, of life.

of the meaning of progress-dubois

victim of enviornment by society, heredity, and natural forces.

situation: Just as Dubois mentioned the older generation, he transitions to the young, lively, and present day generation and displays the excitement they have for the world and for fufilling their dreams.

explanation: the younger generation is a victim to society because just like the older generations, they too face racial segregation. they are victims by their heredity because their skin color is what causes them to be racially seperated. they are victims by natural forces because their skin color creates barriers for them in succeeding in life and by blocking opportunities. 

this is my letter to the world/ that never wrote to me

literary 

Life: Dickinson 

personification.

the "world' that never wrote to her is personified as the people who never paid attention to her.

she writes a letter to them in attempt of acceptance.  

this is my letter to the world/ that never wrote to me

MESSAGE 

life: dickinson

alientation

situation: she is writing a letter (not a literal letter, but a message) to all the people who ignored her in attempt to get their acceptance from her.

explanation: because she was different than the majority of the world, people ignored her and thus caused her to want to write this letter to them. 

The simple news that Nature told/ with tender Majesty.

MESSAGE 

life: dickinson

romantic love for nature

situation: writes a letter (poem, message) to all those who ignored her presence. in poem, states that nature was the only one who befriended and accepted her.

explanation: her romanic love for nature is displayed as she personifies nature as a friend who accepts and befriends her rather than judges her for being different 

“I taste a liquor never brewed…Yield such an alcohol!

literary 

nature: dickinson

extended metaphor

situation: displaying the love the speaker has for nature in comparison to the love an alcoholic has for liquor. 

just as a drunkyard intoxicates themself upon alcohol, the speaker intoxicates themself upon nature.

“I taste a liquor never brewed…Yield such an alcohol!

message 

nature: dickinson

romantic love for nature

situation: displaying the love for nature the speaker has and comparing it to the intoxication of an alcoholic to his liquor. 

explanation: the entire poem consists upon the speaker's love and praise for nature. 

Inebriate of air am I,/ and debauchee of dew…

nature: dickinson

extended metaphor

Inebriety is being compared to the air and she continues to praise nature and express her love for it.

The purpose is to show how the speaker is able to get intoxicated off the air because he or she loves nature so much.

nature: dickinson

personification of the snake

The snake represents the dark side of nature. The purpose of this is to show that although she loves nature, she cannot seem to like the snake.

nature:dickinson

simile

situation: speaker is describing sly, smooth movements of a snake and compares it to a comb

Just as a comb separates, parts, and divides hair, the movement of the snake within the Grass is divided.

nature: DICKINSON

metaphor

situation: the speaker is describing the physical appearance of the snake and comparing it to a whip

Just as a whip that is braided and held together would unravel in the sun, the speaker thinks the snake is a whip.

nature: dickinson

personification

situation: speaker describes the love she has for all of nature's animals, except for the snake.

Natures “people” are being personified as nature’s animals.

love: dickinson

similie

situation: speaker awaits the return of her lover and continuously extends the wait to where she ultimately does not know when he will return.

just as a house wife merely brush away flies, she too will brush away the summer that she awaits for her lover by. 

she ignores the rest of the world and simply focuses on her love and her life and remains hopefu.- ROMANTICALLY IDEAL.

1.       I’d wind the months in balls--/ and put them each in separate drawers.

love: dickinson

metaphor; romantic idealism

situation: she realizes that if she waits for her lover all together (i.e a full year) time will pass by slower and decides to count one by one ( month by month) therefore causing her to feel as if time is passing by faster.

Just as one would wind balls and put them away to organize, she counts down the months, days, etc it has been since he has left and awaits his return.

romantically ideal because she still only focuses upon his return and remains positive. 

love: dickinson

allusion. romantic idealism

speaker wants time to slow down so she can stay with her lover.

Allusion to Van Diemen's Island to illustrate "end of the world" 

love: dickinson

similie

situation: compares life on earth to a rind and conludes that life on earth is the outer shell (useless)

just as one might throw away the rind to a fruit in attempt to reach it sweetness, she too is willing away to throw away her life to spend eternity with her lover. 

It goads me like the Goblin Bee --/that will not state---its sting

LITERARY 

love: dickinson

simile

situation: time continues to pass as she waits but now, is being tautned of anticipation.

just as a bee would buzz and taunt whomever it is around, the anticipation she has for her lover continues to taunt her as well. 

It goads me like the Goblin Bee --/that will not state---its sting

MESSAGE 

love:dickinson

romantic ideals are foolish

she no longer remains hopeful and idealistic towards her lover. instead, she becomes bitter and and realistic towards love and concludes that its time is uncertain.