An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

About the Author (Ambrose Bierce)

• Ambrose Bierce was a Civil War soldier, so he witnessed the harsh realities of war.
• His imagination was morbid, and he began publishing short stories in the 1870s (post-war).
• He went to Mexico to revisit Civil War battle sites at age 71, but was never found again.

Summary

I

• The story takes place in northern Alabama, and begins with a man (Peyton Farquhar) that is about to be hanged.
• He was standing on a railroad bridge, looking down into the water that was about 20 feet below. His hands were tied with a cord behind his back, and he had a rope around his neck that was attached to "a stout cross-timber above his head."
• His executioners were two private soldiers of the Federal army, directed by a sergeant who in civil life may have been a deputy sheriff. There was also a captain a little bit further on the platform, and a sentinel at each end of the bridge. Each sentinel held a rifle in "support" position. There was no one else in sight.
• There were 6 people at his execution: 2 private Federal soldiers, a sergeant, a captain, and 2 sentinels.
• Further away, there was also an outpost (spectators, just in case) made up of a single company of infantry in line at "parade rest" (rifle butts on the ground) and a lieutenant at the right of the line.
• The captain stood with folded arms, silent, and observing the work of his subordinates.
• The soldiers were respectful, despite the situation, holding the code of military etiquette silence and fixity as forms of deference.
• Peyton Farquhar, the man who was about to be hanged, is described as:
• about 35 years of age
• a civilian (habit of a planter)
• having good features
• straight nose
• firm mouth
• broad forehead
• long, dark hair combed straight back
• mustache and pointed beard, but no whiskers
• large and dark gray eyes
• wore a well-fitting frock-coat (formal)
• kindly expression
• evidently not a vulgar assassin
• A sequence of events occurs continuously:
• The two private soldiers stepped aside and drew the planks upon which they'd stood.
• Sergeant turns to the captain, salutes him, and stands behind him.
• Farquhar and the sergeant (previously the captain) stood on the two ends of the same plank. When the sergeant stepped off, the plank would fall and Farquhar would too.
• Farquhar begins staring at a piece of dancing driftwood that appeared to move very slowly.
• He closed his eyes to fix his last thoughts on his wife and children.
• He was distracted by:
• the water, touched to gold by the early sun
• the brooding mists under the banks down the stream
• the fort and the soldiers
• the piece of driftwood (most of all)
• Heard a sound of metallic percussion (like a hammer hitting an anvil), and thought about how he could get his hands loose, loosen his neck, and go home.
• The first part ends with "The sergeant stepped aside." which could mean Farquhar dies, and the rest of the story is in his imagination.

II

• Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter from an old and highly respected Alabama family.
• Peyton was a slave owner, an original secessionist, and ardently devoted to the Southern cause (supported Confederacy).
• He wanted to fight in the army but couldn't for reasons not mentioned.
• He released his energies in any tasks he could do to help the South, no matter how small or perilous ("soldier at heart").
• Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the entrance to his grounds when a soldier asked for water.
• The wife went to get him water, and the soldier said "The Yanks [northerners] are repairing the railroads" to advance more.
• They were at Owl Creek bridge, and had issued an order declaring any civilian caught interfering with the railroad will be hanged.
• Farquhar asks him how fair is it to Owl Creek bridge, and he says it's about 30 miles.
• He then asks the soldier if a civilian could accomplish anything, and the soldier says he went there about a month ago and there was some driftwood he could burn.
• Farquhar decides to go and try to do this, ignoring the notices warning against this.
• The man who talked to him was a Federal scout (Farquhar didn't know this). 

III

• Peyton falls from the bridge and lost consciousness, but he awakened (seemed to him like ages later) with sharp pain his neck and a sense of suffocation.
• He could not think, only feel. Feeling was torment, the pain was a lot.
• A cloud formed around him, and he suddenly fell to the water.
• He loosened the knot in his hands, and made it to the surface (he was very underwater).
• He was preternaturally keen and alert, and made record of things never before perceived, and they all made music. Examples of these important images include:
• felt the ripples upon his face
• saw the veining of each leaf and the insects upon them
• brilliant-bodied flies
• gray spiders stretching their webs from twig to twig
• prismatic colors in all the dewdrops
• millions of blades of grass
• beating of the dragon-flies' wings
• strokes of the water-spiders' legs
• fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush of its body parting the water (SOUND)
• heard the separate ripples upon his face as they struck (SOUND)
• He saw the captain, the sergeant, and the two privates (his executioners) on the bridge.
• The captain drew his pistol but did not fire.
• They moved grotesquely and appeared to have a gigantic form.
• The soldiers shot at him, but he said he could be hanged and drowned, but not shot.
• He saw the one shooting had gray eyes, which are said to be the best for marksmen, but the man missed.
• The men kept missing, and began using a cannon. He dived to avoid being hit.
• He only saw object's colors.
• Eventually, he made it to land.
• The sand on his fingers looked lime diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and everything beautiful to him.
• The trees upon the bank looked like giant garden plants.
• He wanted to remain in this enchanted spot.
• He began walking through the forest, urged on by the thought of his wife and children.
• His neck was in pain and his hand was swollen, but he walked through the night.
• His eyes felt congested and his tongue was swollen with thirst.
• After traveling the entire night, he arrives at his land.
• Opens the gate and sees his wife in the veranda with a smile of ineffable joy.
• As he is about to hug her, he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck, and everything goes dark in silence.
• Peyton Farquhar was dead, and his body, with a broken neck, swing from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.
• He had imagined the whole scenario of going home.

Themes (if you find more, let me know)

1. The human mind is capable of creating an alternative reality as a way of coping.

Good video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSV1tczzNXk