An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Further Reading)

Further Reading

• Ames, Clifford R. “Do I Wake or Sleep? Technique as Content in Ambrose Bierce’s’s Short Story, ’An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’,” American Literary Realism 1870-1910, Vol. 19, no. 3, spring, 1987, pp. 52-67.

  Examines how Bierce’s concealed manipulation of narrative reliability in the story parallels the story’s thematic focus on the confusion between subjective perception and objective events.

• Barrett, Gerald R. and Erskine, Thomas L. From Fiction to Film: Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Dickenson Publishing Company, Inc., 1973, 216 pp.

  This volume includes excerpts of several criticisms of the story as well as a scene-by-scene analysis of the film adaptation.

• Crane, Kenny. “Crossing the Bar Twice: Post Mortem Consciousness in Bierce, Hemingway, and Golding,” in From Fiction to Film: Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” edited by Gerald R. Barrett and Thomas L. Erskine, Dickenson Publishing Company, Inc., 1973, pp. 76-80.

  Crane defines the genre of post-mortem consciousness fiction and outlines how Farquhar goes through these stages.

• Davidson, Cathy N. The Experimental Fictions of Ambrose Bierce, University of Nebraska Press, 1984, 166 p.

  Davidson examines Bierce’s work, focusing on the impressionistic, surrealistic, and philosophical elements in his writing. Analyzing the use of literary techniques in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Davidson traces the effect of the story on certain postmodern writers.

• Fadiman, Clifton. In the Midst of Life, Citadel Press, 1974, pp. 9-17.

  Fadiman’s introduction to this collection gives a biographical sketch of Bierce, including an overview of critical reception during his career, and analyzes why he seems to be better received in the decades after his disappearance.

• Grenander, ME. Ambrose Bierce, Twayne, Inc., 1971, 193 p.

  Grenander gives detailed biographical information as well as specific analyses of Bierce’s writing.