an occurrence at owl creek bridge read online

Farquhar thinks of freeing, throwing off the noose, and jumping into the water. Further, irony is also in his imagined escape plan. Moreover, Farquhar’s views about war are not realistic because he thinks of ‘a larger life of the soldier’ and gallant army (Yost 247). This marks the start of Farquhar’s death.īierce notes, “frankly villainous dictum” to depict the ironical situation of Farquhar because he should be a sympathetic hero rather than a victim of war. He watches as the two soldiers separate the plank “on which he had been standing” (Bierce 1). Ironically, Farquhar wants to set the bridge on fire when in reality the bridge would become his place of death. He learns from the soldiers that the bridge consists of driftwood, and it would burn fast.

Farquhar believes that he can perform any role as a soldier to assist the South (Blume 211). The outcome of the story creates a situational irony for Farquhar because there is discrepancy between Farquhar’s expectations and the actual outcome. What is ironic about the fact that Farquhar agrees with the saying that “all is fair in love and war?” This is rather a short imagination, but to Peyton, it takes several hours when he is escaping from reality and death. Peyton also believes that he is swimming to a secure ground under intense shooting of guns where he returns to his farm. Farquhar’s mind slips into a dream in which he runs away from death when the weight of his body breaks the rope (Bierce 1). Time drags slowly for the condemned man as he dies. On this note, Bierce writes that, “He must have travelled the entire night” (Bierce 1). Peyton’s home is thirty miles away from the bridge, but he reaches there in few seconds in his imagination. Moreover, when the condemned man falls when he is hanged, he only has few seconds prior to his death, but he explores several events in his mind, which could last for many hours. Initially, water under the Owl Creek Bridge races madly, but suddenly slows down. For instance, he notes that objects and time were rather moving slowly. The sound originated from his watch, but it sounded like that of a “blacksmith’s hammer”(Bierce 1).įarquhar’s perceptions about reality and time changes when is waiting for death by hanging. In addition, Peyton also hears a different sound that distracts his attention. For instance, Peyton observes, “How slowly it appeared to move! What a sluggish stream!” (Bierce 1). In addition, the sound of the clock sounds so unnatural to Peyton. Peyton believes that everything has a slow and distorted motion (Stoicheff 349). Ambrose Bierce uses the stream of consciousness literary style to present some aspects of the story that take place in Peyton’s imagination.

An occurrence at owl creek bridge read online