An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a beautifully written short story by Ambrose Bierce that captivates the mind of the reader. The first thing that we notice while reading the story is the author's tone. From the start, we know that something is wrong. We can feel it from the words on the page. Then through Bierce's imagery, we see a man standing on a bridge with a noose around his neck and we realize that we are witnessing his last moments of life. As we look at the man, there is a sense of mystery and wonder that Bierce conveys in his writing. The tone of the poem feels dark even as we are introduced to this first simple scene. As a reader, this made me wonder what was going to happen to this main character. I asked myself if he was going to escape and how he was going to pull it off. But the tone of darkness made me questions my assumptions and wonder if he was going to die. As we get to know the man better--Peyton Farquhar--we are also introduced to his beautiful wife and we are told of his children. We grow attached the man and pray that he escapes. Bierce makes Farquhar question his own death and fantasize about jumping off of the bridge to save himself. This makes the reader do the same, we want for him to survive. Then the unthinkable happens; the rope snaps. Although he has escaped, something still feels off. He is sluggish and delirious. His hands move for him rather than by him. The whole thing just feels odd. We believe the narrative because we have no reason not to but the tone of the story still keeps on us edge even as Farquhar walks into the arms of his wife. At the end of the story, Bierce shocks the reader. Farquahr is died, hanging from the bridge. The tone of the story hinted at this ending from the beginning but we can't help but be hopeful. I think that another major element of the story is the climax. We spend the whole story waiting for the suspense to end and for the action to lead Farquhar back to his family only to find none of it actually happened. It's a genius move on Bierce's part.
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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a beautifully written short story by Ambrose Bierce that captivates the mind of the reader. The firs...
I 100% concur. I think the role of an unreliable narrator takes a good chunk of skill, but good old Bierce did masterfully. It then poses the question, was it better for him to construct a narrative where he eludes death for just a little longer? Or is it better to be solidly aware of your fate in the face of death? Or even on a broader scale, to what degree can deluding yourself help you?
ReplyDeleteI also thought the climax where we discover the main action never even happened is a genius move. I think the plot really plays on the reader's emotions-- which you point out in your thoughts here. We feel shock, we feel unsettled, we feel hopeful, and in the end it seems it's all for nothing. It really makes you think about what the author is trying to say here!
ReplyDeleteI thought the story was dripping with a dark tone as well. It was interesting how he used the happy and pleasant setting to create a sort of dark voltage with the contrasting dark theme. "We can feel it from the words on the page" well said.
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