Realism and Ambrose Bierce

Realism is defined by Abby Werlock as: "the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past" (Werlock). In other words, the focus of Realism is to depict stories in a factual manner that lends to their credibility and allows the reader to relate to them, rather than to exaggerate feelings and facts in order to achieve the desired emotional response.

Realism, which came into vogue right after Romanticism, which in turn came after Rationalism, was in a sense a mix of the two writing styles. While Rationalism focused on a purely scientific and logical approach to reasoning, Romanticism focused on the emotional and spiritual aspects, and therefore the two were basically complete opposites of each other. Realism, on the other hand, is based upon facts and real occasions, but in this style the author uses these facts and situations that the reader can relate to in order to inspire a reaction and prove a point. This idea employs both the emotional and factual sides of humanity, and therefore it probably appealed to a wider variety of people. Realism was also probably more likely to depict an accurate telling of events than something such as Romanticism, which focuses a lot on the unseen and supernatural.

In Ambrose Bierce's story, "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge", realism is portrayed very strongly. Bierce employs both vivid descriptions and supernatural phenomena in order to elicit a response from the reader. For example, the author expresses the circumstances of the main character Peyton Farquhar's "escape" in excruciating detail, down to the color of the bruises encircling his neck. The author also plays to the emotional side though, with his descriptions of the subject's desperate attempt to keep his mind focused on his wife and children as he prepares to be hung. This presentation of facts as well as emotional descriptions is a characteristic of Realism.

The story is also placed in a historically accurate setting. It takes place during the civil war, and it inspires feelings of anger towards the union who hung Farquhar so brutally. This setting of an influential place in history is also very common of Realism. Realistic settings and ordinary people are typical of Realism stories. Farquhar was a typical citizen who just wanted to aid the side he was taking during the conflict. Unfortunately, this story illustrates the realistic way in which "brothers" slaughtered "brothers" during this war, and the way the two armies chose to brutally make examples of people by hanging them in places that other people would come across them and be forewarned not to betray them.

"An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge" is a classic short story told by Ambrose Bierce that is a classic example of a Realism work of literature. Realism was a very important part of our literary history because it paved the way for modern literature. The mix of emotions and facts was an important combination that was finally reached under Realism.