preview

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge By Ambrose Bierce

Decent Essays
Wars do not accept anyone and everyone. There is a certain requirement for all who want to enlist. Peyton Farquhar in the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, was a farmer who was rejected from enlisting in the army. The story takes place during the Civil War in the South. Peyton came from a highly-respected family in the southern state Alabama. He was devoted to the southern customs. Peyton unfortunately was unable to enter the war due to certain Circumstances. One day a soldier comes to Peyton’s home. His wife and he help the solider learning about Owl Creek Bridge. Pretty much the solider from the Northern gave him all the details. Peyton was plotting something in the back of his mind as he was…show more content…
To start, Ambrose Bierce the author of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” develops the story in a different order than most writers. The story starts out describing the details of his appending death. This point is told in third person point of view. “He wore a mustache and pointed beard but no whiskers; his eyes were large and dark gray, and had a kindly expression which one would hardly have expected in one whose neck was in the hemp” (Bierce 522) is describing what Peyton Farquhar looks like. It is describing a man with a kind heart with no attentions of murderous intentions. Like most people who try to join the military, they are sometimes rejected or can’t enter for some unforeseen reason. “After all, the narrator informs us that the hero was unable to participate as a solider in the Southern cause because ‘circumstance of an imperious nature forbade it’” (James Powers) also shows that another writer sees a man with a heart of gold. Willing to fight a battle without even being able to enter the actual war. The story development shows what any man can do with pure intentions. He is willing to go to the bridge, and sabotage anything he could, for what he thought might be justice. Peyton is fighting for what he thinks is justice. He heart is still pushing to keep moving forward. Even in the clutches of death, Peyton still believes unconscious that he is escaping. In his final moments, he escapes the
Get Access