Owl Creek Bridge Essay

Submitted By bettyboop18
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Recently, we have read and analyzed a short fiction work written by Ambrose Bierce called An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. This story, which takes place during the Civil War, starts off with the typical settings of a man, later known as Peyton Farquhar, about to be hung due to a military crime. No spectators are present except for the constant and intense watch of the federal soldiers performing the execution. As time moves slowly, Peyton looks at the stream below him and imagines ways for a possible escape. Farquhar suddenly falls through the bridge and breaks free from his bindings, falling into the stream. He swims hastily towards the nearby surface trying to avoid being hit and killed by the soldiers’ bullets. He finally reaches the shore and hurries home with his wife and kids in his mind. But as he begins running it seems as if the forest he is hasting through is growing longer and more taunting. He manages to reach his home where he sees his wife from afar and runs to grasp her in his arms, when suddenly he feels a tight grasp around his neck. Peyton Farquhar never escaped but died, hung in front of the soldiers, in the lightness of day, under the Owl Creek Bridge. Bierce develops his central ideas of never taking peace for granted and thinking before acting because it will then be too late to turn back in case of regret. One of the central ideas that Bierce shows throughout this work is not taking peace and justice for granted. A way we can observe this is how in Part II of the story, we understand a little bit more of the main character and why he ended up at “the gallows”. He, living peacefully and happily alongside his wife, never would have imagined being caught because of his clandestine crime with the confederates. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions and therefore suffered that tragic death. We can see this more in depth when the author writes, “He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children”. Farquhar’s only thoughts are of his family as he tries his hardest to recollect his latest moment with them before his hanging. Given that everything happened so fast, it is perceivable that he took his happiness for granted or else he would accept his death, admitting his crime, and not even thinking about escaping. Bierce uses the literary element of point of view to show Farquhar’s perspective in the moment. He transports the reader to the actual scene and helps the reader understand the possible thought going through Peyton’s mind. Another central idea that Bierce manages to convey through the use of stream of consciousness is that of thinking before acting because it will then be too late to turn back in case of regret. Bierce shows us a good example of the exact opposite. Farquhar probably not regretting his prior actions still didn’t think about the possible consequences of his decisions. Making him want to
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