An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
By Ambrose Bierce
Rating: Chills
Themes/Genres:
Psychological, Short Story, Horror;
Death, Nature of Time, Illusions
Main Characters:
Peyton Farquhar
Overview:
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is a tale
of a Southern man in the time of the Civil War, pining for a soldier's life he
can't have, and sacrificing his life to assist his side of the war. Taking the subtle advice from a passing
Confederate soldier, he goes to burn a bridge the Union is trying to rebuild
only to be caught and hung in the early morning hours on Owl Creek Bridge.
During the process, the rope broken and
he's plunged into the river below, giving him the opportunity to escape and
return to the family that filled his final thoughts. Through much trial he finally makes it home
to his wife, who is waiting with open arms, before reality returns and his life
ends on the end of a rope on Owl Creek Bridge.
Main Review:
A short story written in 1890, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has
had several adaptations, inspired many works of art such as songs, albums,
plays, and many more stories, and is another work of fiction that helped shaped
the written world. It’s been directly
and indirectly noted in everything from heavy metal songs like “The Hanging
Soldier” to an episode of the Simpsons where the class is putting on a play of
the story, itself. Over 100 years after its publication, this classic story is
still reaching audiences.
And it certainly deserves to be.
While in today’s era of horror
the ending of “he was actually dead, after all” isn’t the most shocking
revelation in the world and has been done countless times, it’s oftentimes done
incorrectly. Either it’s made far too
obvious with no subtlety whatsoever, or it comes completely out of left-field
with no indication that it’s even an option.
Owl Creek Bridge doesn’t have that problem.
There are recurring themes and
hints throughout the story that, if paid attention to, indicate the twist
ending the entire time and keeps the story connected to itself, without
becoming too belligerently obvious. One
of the examples of this is the repeated appearance of the color grey. The grey suit on the Confederate soldier, the
grey eyes in both him and one of the sentinels, and the grey sky under which he
escapes, they all convey the idea of a clouded sense of reality, misleading
illusions and obsessions.
Another is the driftwood that
appears under the bridge, distracting Peyton from his thoughts of his wife and
children as he comments on how incredibly slow it seems to be moving despite
the seemingly rushing water of the river.
It’s a parallel to the slowing and fluidity of time, often described by
those on the verge of death. It becomes
an extension of himself, floating down the river to freedom.
A final note is the disproportionately
acute senses Peyton acquires after his escape from the rope and yet the
strangely detached view of his own body.
It shows the increased gap between him and reality, as his physical body
remains in place at the end of the rope, his raw senses have to make up for the
detachment by going into an inaccurate overload. It allows him to slip into his full fantasy
of escape.
All of these are consistent
enough that they can be pointed out and connected, especially after a second or
third read through, but are also written well enough that on a first
read-through it still accomplishes the point of a twist, the brief shock. While this isn’t necessarily the most
‘horror’ of stories, it’s certainly a well-written piece of work and deserves
the read. Just maybe not so much if
you’re looking for a nightmare-fueled night.
While the idea that anything you could be experiencing right now could
potentially only be a pre-death illusion is a scary enough thought, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is far
less nightmare and far more time slows down and the world melts away
in the most poetic, fashion.
It’s an English teacher’s wet
dream with its brilliant placed and thought-out metaphors, but maybe not the
scariest story on the block.
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