Local color refers to a type
of regional writing with a focus on the specific features of the area. These features
can include regional or local dialects; characters with mannerisms distinct to the area;
historical references; social customs; and even the geographical peculiarities of the
region. The narrator of the story is often a person native to the setting, and he often
adds local color to the narrative. Themes also can also relate to the area of the
setting as well.
Author Ambrose Bierce restrains himself
from adding many examples of local color in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." The
narration takes on an almost neutral tone, unlike a true narrative with local color. It
is possible to imagine Farquar with a Southern accent, but there is an absence of
colloquial expressions in his dialogue. Bierce does describe some of the topographical
areas in this region of Alabama, and there is mention of the Civil War Battle of Corinth
in addition to the local secessionist views held by most Southerners. The Union spy,
pretending to be a Confederate soldier, refers to the Union soldiers as "Yanks," but
there are really few other examples in the story.
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