1. Realism (Naturalism)

2. American Realism is a reaction against Romanticism (Who’da thunk?)
an expression of moral or psychic exhaustion caused by the Civil War ( )
The introduction of the camera led to capturing life’s harshness
a reflection of the nation's urbanization and industrialization
urban slums, farm issues, labor unrest
revealing of problems that minorities and immigrants faced: Native Americans, freed slaves, Chinese and European immigrants

3. Focus Honest Reality Economic, social, political conditions
Ordinary people and events real characters in real lives with real jobs and real problems
Economic, social, political conditions
A look at everyday problems
Class inequalities

4. Style Novels, short stories, memoirs
Characters, setting, plot, conflicts– All realistic!
Abundant detail based on knowledge, not imagination
Settings are those familiar to the author
Stories driven by character, not plot
Their growth of self-awareness usually comes with struggling, pain, and even suffering.
Omniscient narrators

6. Philosophy Humanity is flawed.
Humanity's freedom is limited (not stopped) by the power of outside forces.
Government, Social Class
Free will
One branch of realism is naturalism
Human behavior is determined by forces beyond our control (heredity and the environment).
It also draws from Darwinism– “Survival of the fittest” and tends to focus on the struggles of lower classes

7. Romanticism vs. Realism/ Naturalism
Humanity is strong
Humanity is flawed
Humans are helpless to outside elements (Survival of the fittest)
Hopeful
Skeptical
pessimistic
Imagination
Reality
Inflated reality
God
Non-spiritual
Scientific
Unique
Ordinary
Suffering
Rural/nature
Urban/ society
Urban/ society/ Natural world
Free will/ The individual will prevail
Free will/ Control over lives to extent
Little control/ Survival of the fittest

8. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
About the Author: Ambrose Bierce ( ?)
Born and raised in Ohio
Self-educated
Civil War experience—served in the Ninth Indiana Volunteers
Became a successful journalist and editor in San Francisco
Reputation for exposing public scandal and misconduct
Earned the nickname “Bitter Bierce”
Left to join the Mexican revolution in 1913; never heard from again

9. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Narrative Techniques used in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Flashback—interrupting the chronological sequence to depict something that happened earlier
Shifts in point of view (from omniscient, or objective, to third-person limited)

10. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Point of view is the perspective from which the writer tells a story.
First person point of view: One of the characters in the story tells the story, using first-person pronouns such as “I” and “we.”
Third-person limited point of view: An unknown narrator tells the story but zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character.
Third-person omniscient point of view: An “all-knowing” narrator tells the story. Instead of focusing on one character, this narrator can reveal the private thoughts and feelings of many characters.

11. What messages/themes do readers derive from the short story?
Why would Bierce, a Union soldier, use a Confederate sympathizer as his main character?
How is Farquhar’s fate ironic?
What are readers meant to understand through Farquhar’s bondage, ‘escape,’ and ultimate death?
What is Bierce revealing about his thoughts on the nature of war and the justice associated with war ‘crimes’?
Does Farquhar have a trial?
Is military justice different from civil justice? If yes, how?
Is his punishment fitting of the crime?

12. How is this Realism?
Although the short story includes a section of Farquhar’s imagined escape, how does the story represent realist focus/style/philosophy?
What does the discrepancy between reality and illusion highlight?
Is the illusion realistic in its telling?
Are there elements of Naturalism here?

13. Why Third Person POV?
Why does Bierce employ Third Person POV to tell the story of Farquhar?
How might a story told in First Person POV have been different?