Summary:
In Ambrose Bierce's Civil War short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," southern planter Peyton Farquhar is captured by the Union Army while attempting to destroy a railroad bridge on behalf of the Confederate cause. In the final moments before he is to be hanged for this offense, he undergoes a series of hallucinations in which he escapes and journeys back to his home.
"An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" is a story set in the Old South during the Civil War. It is a story about Peyton Fahrquhar, who is a wealthy southern planter who wants to help the Confederacy win the war. Peyton Fahrquhar develops a plan to destroy a railroad bridge at Owl Creek that is in possession of the Union Army. Unfortunately, Peyton Fahrquhar is captured while attempting to act out his plan and he finds himself about to be hanged from the very bridge that he was going to destroy. Without any emotion, the Sergeant steps off the plank. The plank tilts and Peyton Fahrquhar falls through the bride timbers.
The hallucinations begin as Peyton Fahrquhar stands on the bridge with the noose around his neck. Moments last forever as time is distorted. Even the loud ticking of a watch sounds like a hammer hitting an anvil. Peyton Fahrquhar stands there contemplating all he is about to lose because of this clandestine meeting with death. He closes his eyes in an attempt to shut out and to escape the ugliness of his situation and to envision the beauty of home and family one last time. Suddenly he falls through the railroad timbers but the fall does not break his neck. He is "alive" and he can escape. The fact that he is alive is the onset of the hallucination due to the fact that he could never survive the fall or the noose around his neck. The hallucinations are actually the entire journey back home. As he "escapes" he has super strength to swim the river; his vision and hearing are super acute. He is able to hear water spiders swimming; he can see minute details on the trees across the riverbank.
Once he escapes the water and is in the forest, the hallucinations continue, as he is in unrecognizable surroundings that he considers strange. The description of a "road" Peyton Fahrquhar finds is another hallucination. This is the "the road" that he knows will lead him in the correct direction. The road is described as wide and straight as a city street. The trees from a wall on either side of the road so Peyton Fahrquhar cannot veer or get lost. During his journey down the road, Peyton Fahrquhar notices the stars are unfamiliar and the constellations are not correct. This is more symbolism of the hallucination.
Finally, Peyton Fahrquhar's mysterious journey is over and he is home. When he sees his beloved home and family the dream ends and Peyton Fahrquhar is dead. His neck is broken. The interior story takes place inside Peyton Fahrquhar's mind. When he is dead the story ends because his imagination has ceased and the dream is dead. In his mind he made it back home. So he accomplished his goal. He escaped death. He was happy and at peace. There was nothing further to dream about.
This story is about death and mortality. The reality of Peyton Fahrquhar dying verifies that his death was real and that the events of his escape only took place in his mind. For Peyton Fahrquhar his death was certain for that moment but what if he had taken a different path? Life is all about choices, death and mortality.
This is the complete article, containing 541 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
