An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

There are soldiers from the North that are guarding the bridge since they recently took over it. There is a Southerner that is going to be hung off the bridge for his actions against the North. It shows how awkward the situation is by describing the soon to be murdered man’s posture and the soldiers stances of just doing what they are told.

Not only is this describing the scenery, but it is also showing the thoughts going through this mans head about how he can get free. He is surveying the area to see how he could escape and what would happen–could the Yankee’s shoot him, or was he safe once he got out of the noose?

It mentions that he is a farmer, but he does hold a higher status in society since it describes him being clean-shaven, slicked back hair, and a gentleman. This also proves that the war and the enemy were ruthless no matter who you were. The small grin on his face, might be foreshadowing the plans that he has for escaping.

The last line shows that he has convinced himself that if he fell into the water, that he would be able to survive it and swim to safety. The description of the hanging proves that this was common and that there was a routine to the practice of slaughtering people. This represents the brutality of the war.

The man to be executed is now slipping in and out of consciousness. He is thinking comforting thoughts of home and his family to keep himself distant from reality. The metallic sound could possibly be a train coming with the echo through the landscape. It would sound choppy and like it is stopping and starting since he is slipping in and out of consciousness.

It is interesting that the narrator think it important to write and say the man’s thoughts of escape instead of just leaving it that he said these thing in the paragraph before. I do not know why he would do this. Any ideas? This section also flashes back to reality with the sergeant stepping off the plank.

I think it is to bring things back to reality, like you said in your last sentence. Its to bring it back to the perspective at the begining, because the last paragraph was focusing on the man’s own thoughts and his own perspective, where as here it is from more of a general perspective, as if from a bystander, and I think the narrator wanted to emphasize this distinction

I think the importance of this “awkward” description is not only to show how uninvolved the soldiers are trying to be, but also to symbolize how awkward it is for someone to die before it naturally happens, prematurely ending life–how sudden and without closure.

I agree, Amanda, and I also think the use of the word “loopholed”, though in reference to rifles in context, was intentional. As we all know, this has another meaning- something used to get out of a situation, in this case a possible escape plan as he’s viewing this scenery around him.

His gaze wandering to the madly-racing stream beneath him also represents his mind, most likely swirling with memories, last thoughts, and, as it foreshadows in the last line, possible thoughts of escape.

The ticking of his watch being amplified to that of a blacksmith’s anvil shows how much he was truly dreading the impending drop. Every second seemed labored, every tick was one less second he had to live, and the gravity of the situation was becoming clearer as he was distracted from pleasant memories.

I think that the wording and sentence structure is also very awkward, which adds to the overall awkwardness of the situation.

I really love how the narrator goes into detail about the soldiers and how their guns are positioned. This shows how the man’s (Farquhar) senses have become heightened. This heightened sense of things is repeated throughout the story, and it is interesting that the first paragraph jumps right into this motif.

I don’t think the condemned is actually looking for an escape route. He just seems to be realizing he is about to die, and as he becomes more apprehensive, scared etc the scene around him becomes clearer and more obvious.

I see the “kindly expression” not as a sly grin because he is going to escape, but as a look of dignity. He is going to die with his honor and does not want to show is fear to the enemy.

It seems that things are going in slow motion for the man. Even the fast moving rapids appear sluggish.

I love this little flashback that he has. It almost seems to parallel the entire third part. In the third part the man has an outrageous out of body type experience before he dies, and in this paragraph, he goes back to memories of his wife before he “dies.”

He really begins to think about escaping here because he has realized how much he misses his wife and family, and he will try anything to to see them again.

I thought the line “Death is a dignitary …..of deference” was very interesting and ironic in this situaiton. It shows that the soldiers are not committing this atrocity out of choice, but rather, they feel, out of necessity and they view it as just another military act and therefore must respect it in that sense.

Also, I agree with Craig, I don’t think he was looking for a way to escape at this point. I think the detailed description of the scenery was made to paint a picture of the grimness of the situation. The scenery that is being described is littered with things like “the muzzle of a brass cannon” and “a single company of infantry in line”. I think he is realizing how trapped he really is because he is essentially surrounded by these weapons and Yankees.

I also really like the symbolism of the ticking watch. As the intervals betwen the ticks seemed to be growing, it was almost as if death were playing with him and prolonging his dread of what was about to happen. He knew every tick brought him closer to death, which is what made them “hurt his ear like the trust of a knife”.

I think the thought of a escape is a sudden realization at this point. At the end of the last paragraph was when it really sunk in that he was about to die, and not until then did he realize how much he was losing and leaving behind. Prior to the last paragraph, he was unnerved and not afraid at all, deciding that he would die with pride and dignity. But after thinking about his life and his family, he realized how grim his situation is, leading him to search for hope through an escape plan.

The last two sentences about the two soldiers at the ends of the bridge shows the approach that the soldiers are taking to the hanging. They merely view it as another hanging, another casualty of war that is necessary and that they are simply doing there job of guarding the bridge. The purpose of their job does not matter, only that it is being done matters.

I saw it as dignified, also, like the soldiers may hold the power but he is still a gentleman. That description holds more weight, with me, than his dignified appearance.

When the position of the soldiers is described as “formal and unnatural,” I think that this suggestion mirrors the event that is taking place. It is in a sense a “formal” hanging, as Soham said it is just another necessary hanging, but it is still carried out in a formal manner. The soldiers still take the time to be respectful, rather than just slipping the noose around his neck and dropping the plank. Also, the situation is “unnatural” because being hanged is an unnatural way to die.

I find it interesting that so many other “players” are associated with this death. It is almost as if they are anticipating the noose to fail to do its job, or for the condemned to try to escape. Also, I agree with Soham about “Death is a dignitary…is to be received with formal manifestations of respect.” These soldiers are like robots, they just do what they are told, who knows if they know why they are asked to do the things that they do? Here, the formal way of killing Peyton serves as respect to the condemned, but how can we respect such a bad omen as that of death?

I agree with Jordan and Craig about his sly smile representing his dignity. It is also interesting to me that the author takes the time to describe the condemned. After all, the man is about to die, does it matter what he looks like? I suppose the author’s goal was to show that he was a good man, and to show how it is a pity that he should have to hang. However, war does not take pity, and whatever this man did to deserve death, whether the reasoning is justified or not, he is going to die at the hands of the Federal Army.

When the author writes “These movements left….standing on the two ends of the same plank,” I think his purpose is to show how the sergeant and the condemned are on two totally separate “sides.” For example, the sergeant is the authority, the condemned the obedience to authority. Also, this can apply to the war itself: the plank is the United States, the two men represent the North and the South. Finally, it can represent the cycle of life, the sergeant being life, with the unique twist of having the ability to give (reproduce) and take away (kill), and the condemned being death (soon to die).

Since the ticking interrupts the thoughts of his loved ones, could this perhaps mean that he feels as if all the time in the world would not be enough to recount his dearest memories? It is interesting/disturbing to sit and wonder about what one’s last thoughts would be if his or her life was at stake. This is just my thought, the arrival of the ticking at this point in the plot may have nothing do at all with his memories, it may simply just imply that his time is running out…

I agree with what Soham says completely. Others mentioned previous times when he may have thought of escape, but I think those thoughts were just “what if’s” going through his mind, not serious plots. Now the real possibility has suddenly overcome him, because he would do anything to see his family again.

I want to suggest a possible “still time” scenario for part III of the story. When the seargent steps aside, I think it is then that the envisions of the escape flood his mind. All of the action takes place in a split second, it is just written as if to lead the reader into believing it really happened.

This paragraph is also interesting because the focalization of the narrator first shifts. Previously, the reader knew of the man, knew of his appearance, and knew of what he saw and heard. Now, the narrator focuses on the man as a dynamic character and the reader discovers the man’s direct thoughts. In this short paragraph, the reader realizes the man is a quick thinker, brave, self-assured, perhaps religious, and loving.

In this final paragraph of Part I, I think that the narrator brings the reader back to reality. We had become wrapped up in the story, especially in the direct thoughts of the previous paragraph, and now by saying “set down in words”, the reader once again becomes completely aware that he is reading a story.

I think it was wise of the author to include this exposition at this point in the story. Had this been the first paragraph of the story, it may have been effective, but not as attention-grabbing as the actual beginning paragraph. By describing the character after describing the entire setting and situation, the reader gets the sense that the man may not be the most important part of the entire scene.

Taking a look of some of the literary elements of this passage, it’s interesting to see how repetitive the author is here. The phrases “not a man moved”, “staring stonily”, “motionless”, “statues”, and “folded arms, silent, observing…” all work together to add visual imagery of the still scene and reinforce the author’s purpose of describing the formal deference of the men.

I think that this passage also introduces the first instance of Farquhar’s heightened senses. Throughout the story, he is able to see, hear, and feel things with unnatural intensity. In this instance, he comments that the stream was “racing madly”, yet he was able to see the driftwood following the “sluggish stream’s” slow current. The contradictory phrases make the reader realize something strange is going on.

When I read this passage the first time in the story, I didn’t think it had much significance in the overall work. I only thought that it acted to increase the suspense. On second thought, I think the passage does work as foreshadowing for how Farquhar has increased sensory imagery in the rest of the story. How loudly he heard his watch relates to how strongly he felt his injuries and how closely he sees things in nature.

“Parade rest” is a military parade command which allows the addressed soldiers to relax somewhat, with feet shoulder-width apart. No movement is allowed. The military parade dates back to ancient Rome, when the formation of large armies required soldiers to fight as units rather than as individuals. Organized fighting was considered more civilized than “melee” combat.

A planter is someone who owns a plantation. (Not to be confused with a farmer, who actually plants crops.)

“unsteadfast footing”:

This phrase is from Shakespeare’s Henry IV (part I), Act I, scene iii:

Worcester: Peace, cousin, say no more.
And now I will unclasp a secret book,
And to your quick-conceiving discontents
I’ll read you matter deep and dangerous,
As full of peril and adventurous spirit
As to o’erwalk a curren roaring loud
On the unsteadfast footing of a spear.

Worcester is convincing Hotspur to join the rebellion against King Henry IV. Hotspur will be betrayed by men more calculating and less romantic than he.

I think the loud ticking of his watch is foreshadowing how much time is about slow down–enough that he will be able to live out his escape in the seconds before he reaches the end of the rope.

The phrase “trust of a knife” is confusing… I can’t find any references to what “trust” means in terms of knives. I assume it refers to the blade?

The word “deference” is also a legal term which refers to how much respect a court has for the legitimacy or authority of a government’s actions. Showing less deference might indicate that the court believes a government is illegitimate or acted beyond its power. (Clearly the soldiers here have no such concerns.)

The author seems to take meticulous steps to make the language have this “withdrawn” quality. For example, the story states that his hands “were behind his back,” when he could have easily used much more forceful language, and stated that “a rope closely encircled his neck,” when he could have described the rope as a noose, and once again used a much more forceful verb instead of “encircled.”

“In the hemp” is a creative reference to the noose attached to the man’s neck.

I found it interesting that this paragraph is where the author/narrator begins to try to garner sympathy (”a kindly expression … no vulgar assasin”) for the man being hanged, when he made the language in the first two paragraphs far more detached and formal.

The shift into the protagonist’s thoughts begins to make concrete a sort of battle between good versus bad in the story. While it’s a bit difficult to “take a side” in the beginning of the story - the language is mostly withdrawn and objective, and while there is a general sense of pity toward the protagonist, he is still identified as a criminal - once the protagonist identifies an “invader” and mentions his family, it becomes easier to take his side.

The fact that the duty of these men does not involve knowing what is “occurring at the center of the bridge” demonstrates how even soldiers try to distance themselves from death. If they do not think about what is going on, the loss of a life is not going to affect them greatly; they will not have to deal with this gruesome event emotionally. The sense of personal responsibility is gone.

The phrase “formal and unnatural” stood out to me, too. I agree with Jordan and Kaitlyn in that the author purposely used these words to reflect the situation itself, not just to describe the position of the gun. I thought it was interesting how into detail the author went when describing the position of the gun, even providing a name for that specific position.

I thought that the author’s word choice when describing the sentinels was somewhat unique. The word “adorn” makes me think of decorations and other things whose purpose is to beautify something else. Perhaps the author uses this to contrast the ugliness of the whole situation. Whether this is true or not, I just thought it was odd to use a word that usually has a positive connotation in such a negative situation.

The use of the words “spectators” and “parade” makes me think of this scene as a show, as if the execution of Farquhar is some form of entertainment for the soldiers. At the same time, the soldiers are like “statues […] staring stonily” and again, like in the first paragraph, I get the sense that the soldiers are trying to distance themselves emotionally from this event.

I agree with what Rachel had to say about describing the character after describing the setting and situation. I don’t think the main point of the story is that this is happening to Peyton Farquhar, I think the point is that it is happening, in general. The description of physical appearance is pretty broad and could apply to many people; the author doesn’t use any odd and distinguishing characteristics that would be unique to Peyton Farquhar.

I think that the wording “the condemned man and the sergeant standing on the two ends of the same plank” implies that although they hold very different positions in this life, both the sergeant and Farquhar are on the “plank,” meaning they will both have to face death sometime and this end is inescapable.

I think when Farquhar sees the “swirling water of the stream racing madly” it is because his mind is running wild from thinking about what is about to happen to him. Then, the author states that the driftwood moves slowly to convey to the reader the actual strength of the current and to emphasize the disorienting effect of the situation on the mind of our character.

I definitely did not even notice that the story said “trust of a knife”; I kept reading it as the “thrust of a knife,” which conjured up violent images in my mind. It is almost like time and the watch are Farquhar’s assassins. Each second is a painful jab at the remnants of his life.

The tone in this paragraph is detached and unemotional. It seems that the captain’s nod is too simple of a motion to approve somebody’s death. He does it with no feeling, and the sergeant just does the simple mechanical motion of stepping to the side. The executioners treat this as simple procedure, something that needs to be done with as little mess as possible.

I agree with Michael’s statement about the character becoming more of a protagonist in this paragraph. After the description of his plan to outswim the bullets and the enemy, the reader is really rooting for Farquhar. While at the beginning I was wondering what this man did to deserve this, I’m now hoping he will break free and be able to see his “wife and little ones” again, despite any crime he may have committed. The mention of his family humanizes him enough for the reader to take his side.

In his essay on “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Hal Holladay writes, “The grotesque reality, the horror, of war was one of [Bierce’s] persistent themes. There is nothing glorious in Bierce’s depiction of the war; the Union army is cold, efficient, and deceitful.” This trend is particularly evident in the last sentence of this paragraph, which shows that no one is spared in war.

The way the author brought up the sergeant again made me think that Part II would be about the scene at the bridge, including the actions of the sergeant. But part II goes back to describing Peyton Farquhar’s life up until that moment. Some of you guys have said that he ended Part I in this way to bring the reader back to reality in the present time, but is this necessary if he is just going to jump back to the past in the next sentence?

Perhaps what Zhenya noticed was intentional by the author? I too noticed the phonetic similarity, and that along with the context seems to suggest some violent image.

This paragraph provides even more examples of how the author has been careful not to criminalize the protagonist through his language. He refers to him as “the civilian,” and the one time he refers to him as an alleged criminal, the focus is not his criminal misdoing but rather the fact he has been reprehended (”condemned man”).

I disagree with Craig - I felt that the word choice took away from the author’s message. I recognize that this story seems to be very “awkward” and that it does not read like a normal story. The description of the sheriff and the support position was distracting and took away from the message those descriptions were supposed to represent. However, that may have been the author’s point.

I agree. The author has laid it out such that the man is the hero even though we have no reason to relate to him. The soldiers, captain, and everyone else in the story all have families and children as well - and if they were caught behind enemy lines, they would have been killed. In this instance, they were just doing their job. Still, seeing into the mind of this man makes us relate to him more.

When do we think this took place? I was thinking about 1863 or 1864. Anyone else have any ideas?

This paragraph seems to be the author acting as a narrator when in the previous paragraphs he has acted as just an author. This seems to be the final moment before the last paragraph of the story.

This story was written in 1890, 35 years after the end of the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce was in the Union army in the Civil War, but the public perception of the war had already changed by the time of the writing of this piece. How do you feel Bierce’s own perceptions of the war influenced his writing? How do you think the perceptions of society influenced the writing and the reading of this piece?

I would like to point out the use of alliteration and imagery at the end of this paragraph with phrases like “dancing driftwood” and “sluggish stream.” It is amazing that, although he is about to die, the man is thinking creatively on his feet.

In this first paragraph the thing that stood out most to me was the reference to the number two. First, “the swift water twenty feet below” and twenty is a multiple of two and the “two private soldiers of the Federal army”. Then in the final sentence, “… to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at the center of the bridge; they merely blockaded the two ends of the foot planking that traversed it.” I think that this was to emphasize the two sides in the war.

I thought the use of the quotations around the word “support” points out how those soldiers were there (again, in a very unnatural position for them as well) to “support” the executioners in the event that they failed in their seemingly simple task of dropping someone off a plank. This sets the stage for the events that happen later in the story in that, at first glance, the reader notices the term used to describe their positions and wonders why the executioners could possibly need support for such an easily executed task.

Peyton Farquhar can be taken two ways, as a hero because he was fighting for his beliefs or selfish because he wants to make a difference and risks leaving his family to be a hero. The comment he makes can foreshadow his selfishness in leaving his family because he puts his thoughts about his own escape before the safety of his family.

Maybe it’s the Matrix that’s making me think of this, but when I read the word “sentinel” I thought of those soldiers being nothing more than machines of their government. They certainly don’t want to be the ones to execute this random guy, but they have no choice.

Wait, a planter? With a kindly expression? About to be hanged? Of course he wasn’t a “vulgar assassin,” this guy was nothing more than a farmer. It really puts a face to the several thousand people hanged in such a way over the course of the war.
And Graham, you’re probably pretty close with that 1863-1864 estimate.

The verb choice in the phrase “he unclosed his eyes” is interesting. Instead of using the positive form of “open,” the author uses the negative form of “close.” This goes along with the positive shift that others above mentioned. The man now is happy to have a plan of escape, and it is reflected in the language of the story.

In response to Colleen’s question, this paragraph is necessary to end Part I and begin Part II. The paragraph before only consists of thoughts of the past, while the flashback in Part II is a whole story of the man’s past. This paragraph ties the two together.

I had similar inquiries about these “support” soldiers as Daniel. They are only there to do their specific task and lack any emotion. By being emotionally unattached, it should have occurred to the reader that these sentinels would not care enough to hunt down the man if he happened to escape, and would merely stay at their posts.