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Thrills and Eeriness Once upon a time there was a bird and an elephant. They were great friends and then one day the bird tried to teach the elephant how to fly. And with a little magic fairy dust, they both flew. Except for the elephant. Now, tell yourself honestly, did you know that the story was going to end that way? The surprise, the thrill of watching a movie or hearing a story and not knowing what is coming next. Well, the surprise is coming next. An event that we never imagined in a million years was the solution to the plot. I think that we all agree a good story has a twist – some element that is unexpected -- a “surprise.” I know that I, being hugely stubborn, would never want to believe that there were actually several clues leading up to an astonishment of an ending; but, there are. In the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and the movie Psycho, there are several instances in which definite foreshadowing gives away the ending. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” houses many indications that death may possibly be occurring instead of what is actually being told to the reader, a phenomenal escape from fatality. The story has some amazing examples of foreshadowing which is displayed by its theme that one can’t escape death. Dying is inevitable and life is the occupation of one’s time while we are essentially just waiting to die. This is a fact that no one person wants to face and this short story encapsulates man’s primal fear of death. The following statement is describing Peyton as he is running away from the guards while the guards are shooting at him, “An appalling splash…traveled through the air. …and died in an explosion. A rising sheet of water curved over him, fell down upon him, blinded him, strangled him!” In these two simple sentences look at how much the author allows you to see Peyton’s death, subtly giving away the surprise with little words or phrases (underlined). In particular, the excessive use of the word “dead” indicates a feeling that Peyton actually is dying.
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