An Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeWritten by Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Bierce

OhioIndiana

Attended military academy – Kentucky

Enlisted in Union Army

Fought in several imp battles in Civil War; wounded

Bierce as a Writer

Journalist in San Francisco

Wrote biting political and social satire

“Bitter Bierce”

“Wickedest man in San Francisco,” yet charmed many

Wrote short stories set in Civil War

Cruelty of war; pessimism; contempt of humanity

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

Realism

Setting – Alabama (Civil War)

Structure – Divided into 3 sections

OverviewPayton Farquhar

is about to be hanged by Union soldiers, we learn:

Who he is

How he got there

His fate-imagined and real

Three Sections - Part I Third person point of view; an

objective account of the setting with a realistic description of details

Description of character35 yrs oldPlanter; wore well-fitting frock

Brief insight into thoughts of the character before the hanging

Time slows down; senses become more acute

Part II – Background

Farquhar “longs for the release of his energies;” has a desire for “the larger life of a soldier” and “the opportunity for distinction”

The deception by the “gray-clad soldier”

The motivation for the destruction of the bridge

Third person POV

Part III

Picks up where Part I left off

Limited third person POV

Insight as to what happens at death

Details Farquhar’s thoughts and feelings

Peyton’s Initial Experience

Pain

Sense of suffocation

Initial loss of thought; only had feelingPulsating fireRoaring in his earsFiery heart of a luminous cloudLight (brightness)

Thought is restored:Rises towards surface of water

“I do not wish to be shot… that is not fair.”

Frees his hands; tears away the noose

Dire pain in his neck

Head emerges from water; blinded by sunlight

Senses are intensified:Saw individual trees, leaves,

veins, insects on them

“prismatic colors in dewdrops upon the million blades of grass”

Humming of gnats; beating of dragonflies’ wings; fish swimming

Sounds made “audible music”

Sees soldiers “forms gigantic”

Hears shots; guns and cannon

Other sensations:Feels himself “spinning like a top”

Flung up on gravel bank of stream

Sand looks like “diamonds, rubies, emeralds”

Wind made music of “aeolian harps”

Content; whiz of grapeshot arouses him from dream

Peyton’s “Escape”Travels all day, footsore, through

the forest

Thought of wife and children urge him on

Road- untraveled; stars- unfamiliar grouped strangely (“malign significance”)

Hears whispers in an unknown tongue

Peyton’s Feelings

Neck is swollen and hurts

Eyes and tongue swollen

Can no longer feel roadway beneath his feet

Dreaming? Recovering from delirium?

Final Scene• Home -

beautiful sunlight

• Wife – cool & sweet; smiles with joy

• Reaches for her• Blow on neck;

blinding white light; sound of cannon-darkness & silence-death

ThemesDreams and reality

Romantic view of war vs. brutality and violence

Escape vs. death

Brutality of war

DeceptionUnion soldier posing as ConfederateFarquhar – thinks he can escape

Satire

Farquhar himself is the subject

“All is fair in love and war” and sees war as “opportunity for distinction”

Sees burning bridge as opportunity for glory death

Irony

You are led to believe that Farquhar will become involved in a covert or secret operation to destroy the bridge.

What actually occurs is that Farquhar himself is tricked is tricked by a Union soldier.