Ambrose Bierces’ An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge Essay

Flannery O’Conner’s “The River” is a very interesting story about a little boy whose parents would prefer if he just went away. At the end of the story, the little boy did get away from them for good. In my opinion this story has a weird but interesting meaning to it. The little boy’s death at the end made me question the spiritual meaning of it; however, after thinking about I understood the intentional meaning O’Conner could have for readers.

In “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, the story of a man by the name of Peyton Farquhar whose unlawful actions landed him in a heap of trouble is told. The story is split into three sections which goes back in forth between the past, the present and Farquhar’s falsation of both. By taking the approach of using symbols throughout the story, Bierce gave the opportunity for the reader to feel like they are apart of the story as well as leaving them with a shocker in the very end. Since the story goes back in forth between reality and illusion, the reader may get a bit confused while reading but you get

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, directed by Robert Enrico, depicts an occurrence in the mind of Peyton Farquhar. He is a civilian who tampers with the Union’s railroad system and is going to be hanged, and all he can think about is escaping and getting home to his wife. Unfortunately, death is a reality and no one can escape it.

Ambrose Bierce’s short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” illustrates a theme of illusion versus reality distorted by the human mind. In the story, a man named Peyton Farquhar is about to be hanged on a railroad bridge towards the end of the American Civil War. Farquhar, a Confederate citizen eager to help the Confederate States of America’s cause, ventures out towards Owl Creek Bridge at the advice of a Union scout in disguise. Unbeknownst to Farquhar, Union troops captured the bridge and surrounding territory, and upon capturing Farquhar, elect to hang him on charges of being a Confederate spy and sympathizer. As he is being hanged, however, Farquhar is able to escape his fate by falling into the river below. He manages to return back to his home, only to find out the entire experience of escape was an illusion created by his own imagination. The story concludes with the revelation that he actually died on the railroad bridge. Farquhar’s mind was able to create a whole new reality for himself. This reality was vivid, and it seems real to the reader until the very end of the story. The hallucination also spanned hours, yet in reality time passed for only a few seconds. Ambrose Bierce’s story demonstrates the impeccable powers of the human mind and its ability to distort time and reality for itself.

Ambrose Bierce led a relatively full but tragic life. After losing his sons Day and Leigh to suicide and alcoholism respectively, his wife left him for another man (“Ambrose Bierce”). His struggles with death and the inequity of life are evident throughout his literary works. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” illustrates many of the power struggles that Bierce was fighting throughout much of his life.

Bierce has several reasons to set the story at the bridge. The irony that the bridge that Farquhar has resolved to destroy becomes the bridge where his life is taken is not to be missed. He is warned, but just like other owners of men, he thought himself invincible. The bridge also represents the transition from one state of being to another. In Farquhar’s situation, it helped him to transition from life, with the last sight being that of his beloved wife, a pleasantry to carry with him as he crosses over to

Bierce wrote this novel in an unconventional and illogical order. By starting with the ending of the story and then moving backward describing the events leading up to Farquhar's death, by doing this Bierce creates a suspenseful tension relating to how the narrator perceives the story. This is crucial to the story as it is a prime example of the perception of time. Although Farquhar's death comes in the middle of the second page “his thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were flashed into the dommed man’s brain rather than evolved from it the captain nodded to the sergeant. The sergeant stepped aside” (Bierce Para 8). Bierce extends his story for four more pages about the mere seconds before Farquhar's death. At this point Bierce wants his audience to believe that Farquhar is alive, so the narrator goes on to tell about what is going through Farquhar's mind in these few seconds. This shows how the perception of time is very different based on the situation. In Farquhar's cause time was majorly slowed down before his imminent death. After Bierce illustrates a journey through Farquhar's mind, in the end, that was all his imagination “Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge” (Bierce Para 26). This shocking thrill at the

In Ambrose Bierce’s historical fiction story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” takes place in northern Alabama on or near the Owl Creek Bridge. Bierce makes his story have a unique storyline; one that carries a lot of suspense. Anyway, Bierce bases his story on Peyton Fahrquhar, a man who is a slave owner plus a politician who’s devoted to the Southern cause. He isn’t allowed to take part in the war due to the “circumstances of an imperious nature”, therefore when a man showed up and told him some people were at Owl Creek Bridge, he jumped at the idea of going to help (Bierce 3). It wasn’t a smart decision for him because it resulted with him getting prepped for execution. It was a hard time for Peyton, but he kept think of his loved ones

The American Civil War was seen as a “necessary evil” in order to terminate the institution of slavery since divisions over it between the American North and South could not be quelled by peaceful exchange of ideas. Ambrose Bierce challenges this opinion with his short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” about a Confederate soldier, Peyton Farquhar, who waits for his execution atop a railroad bridge and his final thoughts. With his nonsensical arrangement and obvious symbolism, Bierce strives to convey that war does not adhere to logic, and ironically, when one desperately tries to cling to reality, it becomes further distorted.

Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” portrays the inevitable nature associated with death and the aspects that make our reality real when compared to imagined experiences. Ambrose Bierce using realism to illustrate the turmoil that exists within Farquhar, his ambition to be more recognized within the south, his great love for his wife and kids, and his hopes to evade death. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” starts off with discussing the ceremonial traits of the execution Farquhar is about to receive. Following that it explains the initial events that

Ambrose Bierce is noted as a literary genius for his short stories on the civil war. His military experience during the Civil War allowed him to write some of his most memorable short stories. He is most noted for his story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” It is a story of a man’s last thoughts before being hanged. The story tells about a man, Peyton Farquhar, who was deceived and is condemned to death for doing what he thought would be helping the Confederate Army. In the moment before Farquhar’s death, Bierce paints the reader a colorful description of what goes through Farquhar’s mind. Through what he saw and experienced in the Civil War along with his

During the Civil War, realists, such as Ambrose Bierce, depict authentic scenes of the time period. In his, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, Bierce constructs a realistic scene of a man named Peyton Farquhar, a Southern planter, who is about to be hanged, as well as his escape. Readers closely follow the details of Farquhar’s escape only to realize at the the end that Peyton Farquhar is, in fact, dead. After close inspection, readers discover that Bierce foreshadows the ending through his usage of similes and imagery throughout the story.

Fish is demonstrating his experience at South Pass, Wyoming to be a thought of excitement prior to reaching the destination with his friend, Del Bene. As he writes more about his experience, it is obvious that South Pass was not pleasurable. The stories of death, the deficiency of water as well as lack of beautiful scenery described in the narrative was profound in sensory details. Therefore, allowing its readers to experience exactly what Peter Fish encountered in his journey. The thesis in this narrative is in a very uncommon position, but this positioning made the story flow much more simple. As described in this week’s lecture, the narrative obviously shifts from specific to general. Additionally, I enjoyed reading the variety of the story,

Many have debated the question if time is stopped or slowed down during death, in the short story by Ambrose Bierce “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. The author uses lots of unique plot twists during the short story that manipulates the reader to lead towards another perspective. However, though out the story setting and plot is a huge factor in the story. Correspondingly, the viewpoint of, symbolism, and irony is used heavily throughout the story, translated in Peyton Farquhar mentality during his tragic death making it a true short story. Ambrose Bierce uses the time to manipulate the reader from understanding the plot making it impossible to foreshadow most of the short story.

The writing style of Ambrose Bierce can essentially be depicted as bitter. His stories include the 1891 story “Chickamauga”, the 1891 story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and the adapted “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Twilight Zone film in 1964. Both stories had some kind of incongruity or plot twist that made his stories fascinating. Occasions throughout his life molded his view on the world. This perspective reaches out into his written work when he takes a gander at the sharp side of the world in a large portion of his stories and into the aspects of death. The story “Chickamauga” tells of a small boy who with a toy sword who wanders off into the woods to fight invisible foes. The boy strays too far and evidently becomes lost and lies down to rest and sleeps for several hours. Soon after he awakes he is joined by hundreds of dead or wounded soldiers and rather than being frightened by them he is entertained by them and eventually, with a sword in hand, takes a position in front of the group to lead them. Soon he and the soldiers come across a small body of water and the soldiers make a rush for in which many with the lack of strength die. With seeing a fire in the distance, the child becomes excited and moves towards the flames. When the boy finally reaches the fire he sees that the flames were sprouting from his own plantation he runs in search of his mother whom he finds with her face facing upward, her hands thrown out clutched full of grass, and clothing