Although the story “An Event at Owl Creek” is ironic, other literary elements are represented in the story. Perhaps Ambrose Bierce's most famous work, he used imagery drawn from his own personal experiences during the Civil War, which adds to the suspense of the short story. Imagination is a difficult word to define. The ability to have a daydream, or an image with vivid detail, is what imagination could be. Imagination is essential for some people who escape from real life and head into a fantasy world. Bierce's "An Event at Owl Creek" uses point of view, structure, and symbolism to show the power or capacity of the imagination. Point of view was used very effectively in "An Event at Owl Creek". Although point of view can be effective in any story, action changes points of view in the story, making the ending of the story more shocking. Since most stories are not told from the author's point of view, but rather from the characters' or narrator's point of view, this story is told using the third-person limited omniscient point of view. For example, the story begins when the reader discovers that a person is about to be hanged. Right now, the public doesn't know why someone is going to be hanged. Bierce gives some hints as to why Peyton should be hanged, as “his executioners – two private soldiers of the Federal army, led by a sergeant…” (Bierce 83). It gave readers insight into the reason for the hanging. However, he still kept the reader in the dark about many things. Bierce withholds information from the audience until the timing is right in the story. For example, Bierce does not release information about the circumstances of the hanging until after the hanging. Bierce used it to keep the...... middle of paper ...... Although imagination has its limits, it is really useful in everyday life. Someone can escape from real life and enter a fantasy world. However, imagination can be distracting for some people. In the story, Peyton's imagination emerged in an indescribable way in real life. Works Cited Bierce, Ambrose. “An event at Owl Creek Bridge.” Literature: an introduction to reading and writing. 10th ed. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. New York: Longman 2012. 83 – 88. Print. Holladay, Hal. “An Event at Owl Creek Bridge.” Masterplots II: Short story series, revised edition (2004): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus. Internet. February 17, 2014. Stoicheff, Peter. "'Something Strange': The Dream Structure in Ambrose Bierce's 'An Event at Owl Creek Bridge'." Studies in Short Fiction 30.3 (1993): 349. Literary Reference Center Plus. Internet. February 17. 2014.