An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Analysis English Literature Essay

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Analysis English Literature Essay An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, is a short story with a unique plot twist. Ambrose Bierce uses time as a way of manipulating the readers perspective. Time is defined by a nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession. (TheFreeDictionary.com) This distortion of the continuous forward motion of time disrupts the perception of reality. When the reader can no longer distinguish actual reality from a perceived reality, other character judgments come into question as well. The disruption of time allows the sequence of events in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge to be presented in a manner that forces the reader to question any assumptions made about Peyton Farquhars true character. By taking the reader through the mind of Peyton Farquhar during the moments prior to his death, his miraculous escape, and his sudden snap back into the present, the reader is left wondering about the true nature of time and the effect it has on the awarene ss of reality. The narrators description of every tangible detail to the story sets a specific time period for the events that take place. The reader can easily distinguish a historical time line for the story. Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause. (Bierce p. 72) The story is set in the south, during the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce uses a specific time period as a method of developing the readers perception, of not only the situation, but of the character of Peyton Farquhar himself. By labeling Peyton Farquhar as a slave owner (Bierce p. 72), politician (Bierce p. 72), and original secessionist (Bierce p. 72), the reader may begin to empathize with the reasons for Peyton Farquhars situation. The reader can easily believe that by being devoted to the Southern cause (Bierce p 73) during the Civil War, the man who [is] engaged in being hanged (Bierce p. 74) is justifiably in the situation. The de scriptive language used to describe Peyton Farquhar during this specified moment in history, elicit strong emotions in the reader. Ambrose Bierce easily manipulates the readers perception of Peyton Farquhar while solidifying the reality of the story. Ambrose Bierce continuously foreshadows the disruption of time and Peyton Farquhars upcoming death. The moments leading up to his hanging, Peytons reality begins to become distorted. He became conscious of a new disturbance. (Bierce p 74) A sound which he could neither ignore nor understand, a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmiths hammer upon the anvil. (Bierce p 75). What should be an irrelevant background noise suddenly becomes extremely significant and loud. Ambrose Bierce clearly expresses just how significant the few moments before death become. More significantly for Bierces purposes, though, is that time itself, when employed to calibrate human experience, seems to become indeterminate at points of maximum emotional disturbance. (Stoicheff) Peyton Farquhar only hears the ticking of his watch. (Bierce p 75) This distinct reference to time gives the reader a moment to ponder just how many ticks of Peytons watch actually occur during the upcoming s equence. As the noose tightens around his neck, and he is as one already dead (Bierce p 75) from this state he [is] awakened ages later. (Bierce p 75) Death is a reality each and every individual must eventually accept. Having to face death in such a brutal manner leaves Peyton Farquhar reminiscent of his wife and home. He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children. (Bierce p 76) Although improbable, the thoughts of escape begin to cloud Peytons mind. If I could free my hands, he thought, I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream.' (Bierce p 76) Until this point in the story, Ambrose Bierces narration has maintained a steadfast objectivity. In the third and most notable section of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, when the sergeant stepped aside and the board is released from beneath Peyton Farquhar, the narration becomes much more emotion-laden. The reader begins to experience the pain and terror that must come from facing death in such a manner. Although the events of his escape are surreal and improbable, because time-flow is normally irreversible, the reader is continuously pushed forward into believing Peyton has actually survived his escape. Thus, allowing time to continue uninterrupted, yet more subjective. The reader is finally given small insight into the thoughts and emotions of Peyton Farquhar. The internal thoughts and fears of a man just moments from his death can be unnerving and terrifying. However, the reader nearly cheers for Peyton Farquhar to escape unharmed. The narrator continues the objective description of even such a traumatic scene. It seemed to himby the pain of a sharp pressure upon his throat, followed by a sense of suffocation. (Bierce p 75) With each passing moment, with each detailed description of the pain Peyton Farquhar must endure to achieve his escape, time seems to slow down. As in any adrenaline filled moment, time becomes slightly distorted, however Bierce again uses descriptions to what can only be a method of elongating a single moment. As [Peyton Farquhar] rose to the surface, gasping for breath, he saw that he had been a long time under water. (Bierce p 75) Farquhars ordeal describe[s] the sensations of an exhausted escaper as those of a hanged and dy ing man. (Palmer p363) Reality becomes further muddled in the readers mind. Initially the reader was left with many assumptions about the character of Peyton Farquhar. The factual descriptions given allowed the reader to sympathize with Farquhars captors. However, in the second section of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, the reader is given the opportunity to see the events unfold. It becomes apparent that although a secessionist, (Bierce p74) Farquhar was entrapped into the events that unfolded by a union soldier. The reader can than begin to sympathize with the character. Ambrose Bierce uses this opportunity to and entrance into the surrealist dream sequence to develop character more fully (Walz p262-265) The Truth the reader has come to accept begins to unravel and suddenly becomes questionable. The distortion of time and perception begin to distort the awareness of reality for the reader. Ambrose Bierce shows that time can be manipulated and elongated significantly by highly emotional events. (Stoicheff) The narrators description of the a single insign ificant sound and how it comes the most abundant thought before death should make the reader question the subjectivity of not only time, but reality and truth as well. The readers ability to sympathize with the character through a distortion of time and to begin to question the nature and subjectivity of time make apparent how relative truth is. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, reality is subject to time, emotions, and the reader assumptions. Each individual aspect effects reality significantly. Ambrose Bierce reiterates the fact that time, reality, and truths are all created in the readers mind. If the readers perception creates each aspect and the readers perception can be easily manipulated, then it stands to reason that each aspect can then be manipulated as well. However, although time is nature to subjective perceptions, Ambrose Bierce makes it obvious that it cannot be escaped. In the end, all is darkness and silence! (Bierce p75) Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge. (Bierce p76)