An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1890

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Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

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Literary Devices

Stream of Consciousness

Stream of consciousness is a literary technique that seeks to portray the flow of a human mind as actually experiences life, a series of thoughts, memories, imaginings, sensations, and emotions. Bierce uses a stream-of-consciousness technique to misdirect the reader and explore how a dying mind tries to hold on to life. He uses the device most consistently in Part 3 in the dream-like sequence of Farquhar’s escape. Farquhar believes that he has escaped the hangman and is trying to get home to his wife. The narrative is one continuous stream of thought. For example, the narrator says, “He looked at the forest on the bank of the stream, saw the individual trees, the leaves and the veining of each leaf—he saw the very insects upon them: the locusts, the brilliant, bodied flies, the gray spiders stretching their webs” (14-15). Bierce uses this device to show the distortion of time and reality that Farquhar experiences. The reader attributes Farquhar’s heightened awareness to the adrenaline pumping through his body as he attempts to escape. This whole section involves misdirection because Farquhar is already dead.

Setting

Set during the Civil War, Bierce’s story begins with a historical narrative voice. The stiffness of the behavior at the beginning of the story is historically accurate for a company of soldiers during the time. The setting is used to comment on the loss of life of civilians. As the gray-clad scout says, “The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels, or trains will be summarily hanged” (10). Bierce would have known about notices like this as well as how the military would handle civilians.

The setting of the forest also acts as a crossroads between the living world and the world of the dead. Farquhar’s travels through the woods create a separate liminal space bringing about a transformation. The narrator notes that Farquhar is content to stay “in that enchanting spot” that he finds after he leaves the river (19). However, he must plunge into the forest. In the forest, the reader watches him begin to lose hope that he will make it home. Bierce writes, “Overhead, as he looked up through this rift in the wood, shone great golden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations. He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance” (20). Farquhar is unsure of himself and his ability to get to safety. His hopefulness nearly fails him as he feels the injuries around his neck. This transformation is significant because it helps to keep the reader on Farquhar’s side.

Flashback

The use of flashback occurs in Part 2 of the narrative. Farquhar becomes a man with a story and a name. He is no longer set at a distance. The reader sees firsthand who and what Farquhar is. Farquhar wants to prove himself worthy and become a hero. Bierce could, of course, have placed Part 2 first, arranging the story in chronological sequence. His decision to put these scenes in a flashback accomplishes two things. It makes Part 1 mysterious and disconcerting because the reader does not know who the convicted man is or why he is about to be executed. And it makes Part 2 more ominous because the reader suspects Farquhar will be revealed as the condemned man. The flashback establishes how Farquhar came to be on the bridge in a noose and allows the reader to pass judgment on him. Is it right that he should be hanged for trying to sabotage the bridge?

Imagery

Bierce’s story is full of auditory and visual imagery. The goal of imagery is to shape the story in the mind of the reader using vivid descriptions of places, people, and sound. The imagery in the story sets up the contrast between perceived reality and factual reality. The beginning of the story is a detailed description of the scene on the bridge. Bierce writes, “A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below” (4). Bierce sets the tone and feel of the story with the image of a man standing on a bridge. The imagery subtly shifts the reader from this objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint of Farquhar. In Part 3, the imagery becomes more pronounced. As Farquhar is escaping, the images are clearer and sharper than they were at the beginning. Everything has an edge to it. For instance, as he is walking down a path, he sees that “the wood on either side was full of singular noises, among which—once, twice, and again—he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue” (20). Bierce’s imagery allows the reader to see that what Farquhar is seeing is not reality. The dream sequence of him escaping is the actual event of him breaking his neck. The images play with time and the sequence of events, leading the reader to the final image of Farquhar’s body swinging gently from the bridge.