An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge
By Ambrose Bierce
Conflict
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a story about a man who is being hung by the Union in Alabama during the Civil War. The man, Peyton Farquhar, was led into a trap by a Union scout disguised as a Confederate soldier. The scout told Peyton that the Union was using the Owl Creek Bridge as an important railroad route, and Peyton, being devoted to the Southern Cause, sets off to sabotage the bridge, despite being told the penalty for trying to do so is death by hanging. The conflict centers around Peyton and the hanging, after he is caught. He has an external conflict against the noose and the Union soldiers on the Bridge who are going to execute him.
Characters
Peyton Farquhar
Peyton is a Southern planter who is a secessionist and is devoted to Alabama and the South. He is humble and would do anything for the Southern Cause: "'Suppose a man-a civilian and student of hanging-should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel,' said Farquhar, smiling, 'what could he accomplish?" (15). In this quote Peyton shows he would risk death for the South, and would even sabotage a Union Bridge just to help the Southern Cause.
The Union
The Union in this story acts as one character, with the soldiers leading Peyton into a trap, but not directly picking out and characterizing one specific soldier. Instead, the author characterized the Union as a whole as deceiving: "An hour later, after Nightfall, he repassed the plantation, going northward in the direction from which he had come. He was a Federal Scout" (15). This quote shows that the Union scout was deceiving and led Peyton into a Union trap, so the Union could execute him.
Mrs Farquhar
Mrs Farquhar is shown as compassionate and humble like her husband, fetching water herself to give to the disguised Union scout, thinking he is a confederate soldier: "Mrs Farquhar was only too happy to serve him with her own white hands" (14). This quote shows that she also supports the Southern cause, and is willing to help the Confederates. She lives on the Farquhar Plantation along with Peyton and their children.
Plot Line
- Exposition: The disguised Union soldier tricks Peyton into trying to sabotage the Bridge.
- Rising Action: The soldiers at the bridge capture Peyton and prepare to hang him.
- Climax: The noose breaks and Peyton falls into the creek.
- Falling Action: Peyton escapes the soldiers at the bridge and travels back to his home.
- Resolution: Just as Peyton embraces his wife, he appears at the Bridge again and is hung. This brutal ending shows Irony, because you would expect Peyton to have escaped, but it turned out it was just a daydream: "Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge" (21).
Situational Irony
This story uses situational irony as a literary device. When Peyton escapes, it is revealed at the end that he never did escape, and it in fact was all just a daydream. This is ironic because the reader would expect when he escaped for that to be real, when it wasn't.
Situational irony: The opposite of what you think - Christopher Warner
The Effects of War on Civilians
In this story, a civilian man, Peyton Farquhar, is executed by Union soldiers. This is because he was tricked by a disguised Union scout, who told him the bridge could be burned down. Peyton Farquhar, while he is a secessionist, was a humble and caring man, who always wanted to help his state and the South. His wife and children now have to go through life without him, and he is tricked and executed at the bridge he was told could be burned down.
Most Compelling Aspect
The irregular time sequence of the story really adds to its effect on a reader. By having a flashback and then a daydream, then coming back to reality at a crucial moment is a very unique way to write a story. When Peyton is about to be hung, there is a flashback to when the disguised Union scout tells him about the bridge. Then it flashes forward to when Peyton's hanging fails and him escaping. Once he gets home it goes back and he is hung, and it is revealed that his escape wasn't real. This plot twist at the end, combined with the unique time sequence, really makes this story unique and interesting.