Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

Ambrose Bierce seems to be an intriguing, deep-thinking writer. I would be curious of the effect his parents’ religious dedication had on causing him to hate the faith and piety and to be driven to write of such death and darkness. It would cause one to ponder what happened to cause him to be so unhappy that his stories reflected maiming and the separation of families as their focus and that he would assume the title of “Bitter Bierce”.

While this story is centered on Peyton’s death, I did not detect any bitterness or gruesomeness in the depiction of the hanging. Hangings are what they are, a form of execution. There is no way to make it look like anything else; however, I did find the illusion of Peyton’s escape and arrival at his home place right before his death more consoling than bitter. I found the imaginary escape to be quite entertaining and felt this literary tool of out of self experience or dreaming to be more modern than others used in stories of the time. Ted Dekker is a modern author which uses quite a bit of dream and imaginary story lines requiring quite a bit of attentiveness on the reader’s part.
I assume from the conversation between Peyton and the Federal Scout Peyton must have attempted an attack on the Owl Creek Bridge which brought him to this fate. I noticed the mention of the driftwood by the scout as being dry and would burn easily and again as an object which caught Peyton’s attention as he awaited his doom. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on the significance of this object.

I believe the three parts Bierce uses in the story to be the present, past, and future. The first part sets the stage for what is happening to Peyton at the moment, the moments leading up to the hanging. The second tells of the past and what led to his demise. The third, in my opinion, tells of what he is thinking as the hanging progresses. I believe it tells of what he thinks might happen, how he might escape and flee to the safety of his home. However, we know by the story, it never materializes. He dies quickly at the end of the rope. I believe Bierce uses the contrast between the reality of the hanging and the imaginary scenario to make the passing of Peyton into his afterlife less dark and more heroic and easily accepted with the sight of his wife one last time, even though he is not able to grasp her that last time before the reality of his death sets in.