"At last he found a road which
led him in what he knew to be the right direction. It was as wide and straight
as a city street, yet it seemed untraveled. No fields bordered it, no dwelling
anywhere. Not so much as the barking of a dog suggested human habitation. The
black bodies of the trees formed a straight wall on both sides, terminating on
the horizon in a point, like a diagram in a lesson in perspective. Overhead, as
he looked up through this rift in the wood, shone great garden stars looking
unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations." (Chapter III)
The descriptions of the trees like "a diagram in a lesson in perspective" and the stars "looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations" hint at the unreality of this sections, as trees seldom grow in exactly straight lines, and Peyton Farquhar should have been more familiar with the constellations of the South.
"His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it found it
horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had
bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he could no longer close them. His tongue
was swollen with thirst; he relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from
between his teeth into the cold air." (Chapter III)
It would be odd if Farquhar, after walking far through the Southern countryside, would all of a sudden feel pain in his neck and find it swollen. The discontinuity of what Farquhar is "doing" and what he is feeling also hints at the dreamlike aspect of this section. Clues about what is really happening to Peyton Farquhar appear long before this paragraph in the story, but this is the biggest hint.
A question that I struggled with while reading this story, especially at the end, is the reason why Ambrose Pierce found it necessary to write An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. There is no character development, no happy ending, and no real fulfillment to the story. The author introduces you to a character, Peyton Farquhar, and dares you to hope for his escape and survival, and then kills him at the end. I know happy endings aren't necessary to every story, but usually the ones that don't end well still have some sort of purpose.
Since this is considered a great literary classic, I assume there has to be some reason why the author decided to publish this work and I feel like I am missing something important in the story.
Good point Joshua! I was wondering the same thing as I read this story. It doesn’t seem like it has a point. Especially because it makes you believe that Fahrquhar is making a daring/amazing escape.. but it turns out to be just an illusion. I thought that maybe the reason the author wrote this was to emphasize the real aspects of war and death. Death to seemingly innocent individuals. The story didn’t say anything about a crime that Fahrquhar had committed or something awful he’d done. Why would he be executed like that?! But it is a very well written and descriptive piece of literature that really makes you think about what’s going on in the story. Do you guys think that the author wrote this based on something that had happened to someone he knew/knew of?
ReplyDeleteMy physical copy of the story is a collection of Ambrose Bierce's works. It's approximately 2/5 Civil War stories, 2/5 horror stories, and 1/5 tall tales. To answer Claire's question, I think Bierce just liked writing horror stories, and this was one of his attempts to create a Civil War horror story. (Side note-I honestly don't know why Mrs. Jones was so excited for this story.) To be honest, Joshua, I don't know who decided to name this story as a "great literary classic", but I think they must have done it on a day when they forgot their morning cup of coffee; and as a result, they weren't thinking straight that day!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason that I can think of for the commander of the Union garrison to vow to punish any would-be saboteurs by the time-consuming process of hanging (rather than a quick execution by firing squad) would be because they intended to stay there for a while. However, since Sherman's armies were constantly on the move at this point in the war, why did these soldiers see fit to stay in one place for so long? Because they were gearing up for another offensive.
DeleteThank you for your insight to why the author wrote this story, Braden. Although, I must say that I never really saw "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" as a horror story necessarily, just kind of sad and depressing. I do agree with Mrs. Jones that this story elicits a lot of emotion.
DeleteIn addition to what you and others have said, do you think that another reason why Ambrose Bierce wrote this story was to humanize "the enemy" to a Northern crowd?
That's a great thought Braden. It really is like a Civil War horror story! I like your thought about the army staying put to get ready for another attack. That is very probable. For me, I guess I just thought they were stationed there. Like in the Red Badge of Courage when the soldiers would sometimes be stationed in a specific location for a long time. Maybe it was the same thing.
DeleteLOL - Mrs. Jones was excited for this story because it elicits lots of emotion & great discussion from the readers :)
ReplyDeleteYou are on to something, Claire. Bierce is writing about the horrors of a war he personally lived through. We will talk about this in class. I wonder if it may have been somewhat therapeutic to write as he did.
Ok great! I’d love to hear more about it in class. Yes I agree Braden, I personally would not have named this a “great literary classic” either. But I guess if you’re into that sort of thing..🤷🏻♀️
ReplyDeleteNice post Joshua! You really explained the section of literature you chose. It is strange how the author goes back and forth between reality and imagination. It's like a time warp in the story that at some time confuses the reader, but it also leads to an interesting approach to writing. I really like how you described it as a "dream- like" aspect. Farquhar is about to be hanged on the bridge, but then the next sections of the book make it seem like he is alive and well. But at the end he dies! All the events actually happen much faster than what the reader perceives. Yes, some of the best literary classics seem strange to us, but I think like Claire said that there is an underlying purpose that is maybe hard to see on the surface.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence was true, but I think my comment on the coffee still stands!
DeleteInterestingly - this is one of the most anthologized short stories in American Literature. It's structure & the time warp aspect is a first in almost all literature. We see this technique used to day, but at the time, it was unique.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. Even though I did not really enjoy reading the story, I must admit that it is written like a literary classic. Ambrose Bierce has very detailed descriptions and and is a skilled writer. I wonder if he wrote anything other stories or books.
DeleteI thought it was hard to understand what parts were real and what parts were dreamlike.
ReplyDeleteYes Mercy, I struggled with that too. Even now I'm still having trouble! It is confusing!
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