Owl Creek Bridge - Bierce

Owl Creek Bridge - Bierce

In an Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bierce takes his readers on an ironic journey through a brutal death and the possibilities of heaven and hell.

Although there is much more literary criticism available on Bierce's other works, critics at enotes.com suggest that this story has "been lauded as an example of technical brilliance and innovative narration, as well as for its examination of such themes as the nature of time and the complexities of human cognition"(enotes.com). I would not classify it as brilliant but, perhaps, for its time, it was groundbreaking. In fact, one critic does describe Bierce as a writer whose thinking may have been before his time. "He was a cynical journalist writing at a time when social thought was dominated by optimism. He was the writer who introduced psychological studies in fiction into an American literary scene dominated by realism, naturalism, and regionalism" (Korb).

Bierce's use of manipulation and shock, as well as blurring the line between reality and fantasy may have been clever, but it could also be seen as a grossly obvious literary tactic. However, Bierce was deeply affected by his experiences in the war, and he used his writing to convey to his readers the true horrors of war. One critic notes, "a predominant theme in several of Bierce's short stories is the physical and mental anguish associated with war" (Singletary).

This story, a poignant, ironic look of the process of death, possesses an eerie tone, as well, as evidenced by its appearance as a Twilight Zone episode. I believe that Bierce created a horror story to impress his readers with the finality and futility of war and the gruesome misery it entails. Rather than simply write another war story, Bierce captivates his readers with a supernatural cliffhanger that shifts in and out of the realm of possibility and leaves us affected and caring about Peyton Farquhar.

Bierce is most often referred to as a satirist. However, satire requires some element of humor, which disqualifies An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge from the genre. The dark quality of the story coincides with Bierce's reputation as bitter and cynical, but the story is so vividly written that it more accurately reflects the stark horrors experienced by a man who saw too much war. After having participated in many gruesome battles, Bierce was assigned to "the highly dangerous work of a lone pre-battle reconnaissance scout," giving him months of time alone to think about what he had seen (Hopkins). This story is an anti-war statement, or at least a wake-up call about the horrors of war.

The story opens with one very long descriptive paragraph that is so detailed it gives us the sense of hyper-vigilance. Fine details about the rope, loose boards, the posted sentinels with their weapons resting in front of their left shoulders, the sense of formality at the scene at the bridge and observations of the stream and woods all seem to be emanating from the mind of a man whose senses are extremely heightened.

Peyton Farquhar is not a soldier, but a wealthy plantation owner who was attracted to the possibility of dignifying himself by being of service to the South during the civil war. Tricked by a federal scout into trying to do something heroic for the South, he is about to hang from the bridge that he intended to burn. Bierce describes Farquhar's experience as one of extreme agony, followed by hope of survival. Farquhar feels devastating pain, but finds himself in the river, escaping from the soldiers with his senses "preternaturally keen and alert. Something in the awful disturbance of his organic system had so exalted and refined them that they made record of things never before perceived"(Hopkins/Bierce 309.)

This is the first clue that something is amiss, and that Farquhar is not in the world of physical reality.

Bierce's imagination of the confusion, pain and altered state that accompanies a violent death is keenly honed. In the scene that continues with Farqhar's escape from volleys of bullets, swimming down the river and the thrill of sand and gravel in his hands, Bierce gives us his impression of the last encounter with hope in a dying man. Farquhar travels all day through the wild woods, and sees "great golden starts looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations"(Hopkins/Bierce 312). By this point in the story it is clear that Farquhar is not in a state of reality, and it is confirmed when he unexpectedly sees his home and wife.