Job the Fifth!

Job #5!

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The two stories have so much in common, yet there are key elements in the stories that differ greatly. While, at first glance, the styles of the stories seem similar - if not the same - they diverge in very subtle ways.

At first, it would seem that "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a darker, more sinister story than "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." In the former, there are supernatural influences and the usage of fear that add a rather ghost-story-esque feel to the plot. However, despite the ghosts and legends and enchantments of "Sleepy Hollow," the overall message of the story isn't as twisted and conflicted as the message of "Owl Creek Bridge." Whereas the reader walks away from the first story feeling entertained, he or she doesn't feel the same way after reading the second. There are so many questions left unanswered.

Also, "Sleepy Hollow" doesn't seem to attack any current events or venture into debated waters. But "Owl Creek Bridge" delves right into the heart of what was going on at the time it was written - the characters are deeply involved in the modern issues of the time - slavery. War. Punishment.

And what of the endings? Yes, "Sleepy Hollow" doesn't resolve itself exactly merrily, but the reader gets the sense that in the end, everything turned out alright. In "Owl Creek Bridge," however, the conclusion is morbid, and there is no escaping the fact that death has marked the end.

All that being said, though, there are certainly ways in which the stories are similar. For example, the protagonists of both stories don't seem to be much of heroes, and it would seem that the readers don't exactly know if they're siding with the protagonists or not. There isn't much character development in either story - this, too, is a common bond of both stories. And overall, there is an aura of melancholy that envelops both stories. And no matter what the storyline, neither story is to be quickly forgotten.

Job the Fourth!

Job #4!

Hmmm...a thinking question.

I was trying to come up with some incredible question with such insane intellect that you'd all be like "WHOA," but my question isn't going to be insanely intellectual. In fact, it's pretty basic. But it's a question that I genuinely want to know what you guys think about it.

What was the point of this story?

I know, it's not a very original question. But I think it's one that needs to be answered about every book or story or poem, in order to get its full effect. We could ask all these complicated questions about the plot, the characters, the details, but what is the message? Doesn't that need to be asked?

What was the point of this story? Do you think it was merely a story, or do you think Bierce was trying to get a point across?

Job the Third!

Job #3!

1. Secessionist. "Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause," Chapter II.

2. Dictum. "No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war," Chapter II.

3. Preternatural [the word "preternaturally" - the adverbial form of "preternatural" - is used in the text]. "They [his senses] were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert," Chapter III.

4. Æolian. "A strange, roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks and the wind made in their branches the music of Æolian harps," Chapter III.

5. Malign. "He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance," Chapter III.