Preview

Summary Of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
336 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, the story begins with the hanging of the narrator. He imagines escaping and what it would be like to be with his wife again. Entering section two, it’s discovered who the narrator is. Peyton Farquhar, a successful planter who is completely devoted to the south. Although he is not able to join the Confederate army, he wanted to help in any way possible. One evening while Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench on their property, a gray-clad soldier rode up, asking for a drink of water. It appeared that the soldier was from the Confederate army, so Farquhar didn’t think anything of it. While Farquhar’s wife was getting the water, Farquhar asked the soldier for news of the front. The solider
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Compare and Contrast of Editha and The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Compare and Contrast of Editha and The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

    As much as these two short stories are completely different, they have many similarities. Editha and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge both present elements of anti-romanticism. These short stories give examples of idealism vs. realism and fantasy vs. reality. Both of these authors (William Dean Howells and Ambrose Bierce) show what the personalities are like of people who are realists and people who are nonetheless, preposterous.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Peyton Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page

    Peyton Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

    The question above asks of a question that us, the reader, can only assume as to whether or not the author meant a significance to the title “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The story overall revolves around the main character, Peyton Farquhar, who is sentenced to be hanged because he was deceived by a Yankee spy. When it is time for Peyton to jump, the noose breaks Peyton free and he swims to a road, dodging the bullets being fired at him. Peyton arrives at home greeted by his family, when snap the noose breaks his neck, leaving Peyton dead on Owl Creek Bridge. On the way down to his death, Peyton had one last glimpse of his life and family before he died. Since this question is more of a narrow-minded request, I believe that there is…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    My Antonia Chapter Summaries
    • 5020 Words
    • 21 Pages

    My Antonia Chapter Summaries

    The novel opens with an unnamed narrator recounting a train trip through Iowa the previous summer with an old friend named Jim Burden, with whom the narrator grew up in a small Nebraska town. The narrator recalls talking with Jim about childhood on the prairie, and then notes that while they both live in New York, they don’t see each other much, since Jim is frequently away on business and since the narrator doesn’t really like Jim’s wife. The narrator resumes talking about the train trip with Jim through Iowa, adding that their discussion kept returning to a girl named Ántonia, with whom the narrator had lost touch but with whom Jim had renewed his friendship. The narrator recounts that Jim mentioned writing down his…

    • 5020 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary
    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Summary

    Even though both short stories, Editha and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, have illusions which the reader gets caught into, they are very different from one another. In Editha, the illusion comes about when George dies at war and the reader is convinced that Editha realized her selfishness and learned her lesson. Howells convinces the reader even farther by describing that Editha was physically ill with fever and grief. Only during the last paragraph are readers forced back to reality in that Editha has not changed and would probably continue to manipulate people in the future. In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Peyton vividly depicts that when the sergeant steps off the wooden plank that he is standing on that the noose breaks and leads him spiraling into the water below. The reader is left on edge as Peyton barely escapes being killed from the shots fired from the soldiers, he then proceeds to attempt to find his way home back to his wife and children. Only once he finds the road he knows does the reader know what is happening, during this point in the story Peyton describes he swelled and bruised neck and how he couldn’t seem to feel the ground beneath his feet. He is then transported to the gates of his house and sees he wife, when he takes a step forward he feels and blow to his neck and is consumed by blackness. The last sentenced confirms the readers beliefs that he did not actually escape, he was dreaming and the noose never broke. Both the stories show the illusions wrenching the reader to see the grim reality of the…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge
    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page

    Farquhar In An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

    Abrose Bierce created a work of literature “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” a short story that takes place during the Civil War. Farquhar the protagonist in this short story is being hanged. ““The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroads, its bridges, tunnels, or trains, will be summarily hanged”(Bierce 770). Farquhar arrogance contributed to his death. He saw the signs that told him to not tamper with any traveling path or die. His disregard for the rule caused his untimely death and the flashbacks in his life before the incident.…

    • 165 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Failure
    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page

    Owl Creek Bridge Failure

    The story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” written by Ambrose Bierce is about a wealthy Alabama plantation spy named Peyton Farquhar. Peyton was hanged at Owl Creek Bridge because he was misled by the Union soldiers into burning a bridge that would have inhibited the northerner’s troops to get through. As much as he was willing to protect his wealth, I guess he didn’t anticipate about the consequences. Therefore, he was caught by northerner’s soldiers for being immature about military discipline, and rules of engagement. I believe, if a person was acting a vigilant, whether they were civilian or soldier, the ultimate price was death. Not knowing anything about military discipline, or about rules of engagement, Farquhar chooses to act as…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Railroad Bridge Research Paper
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Railroad Bridge Research Paper

    The most exhilarating, terrifying ride of the year is soon going to be opening! The Railroad Bridge is a terrifying ride guaranteed to make passengers feel the adrenaline coursing through patrons veins. This ride come from the urban legend that comes from a railroad bridge on Susco Road in Pennsylvania. In the legend it says it is a bridge where a bride supposedly hung herself, and some say if patrons put passengers keys on patrons car on the site, passengers can see the bride in the mirrors.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Analysis
    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Analysis

    "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" or "A Dead Man's Dream" is a short story by American author Ambrose Bierce. Originally published by The San Francisco Examiner in 1890, it was first collected in Bierce's 1891 book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. The story, which is set during the Civil War, is famous for its irregular time sequence and twist ending. Bierce's abandonment of strict linear narration in favor of the internal mind of the protagonist is considered an early example of experimentation with stream of consciousness.[1] It is Bierce's most anthologized story.[2]…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge, an Analysis
    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge, an Analysis

    Do you like surprise endings? “An Occurrence at Owl Creek”, by Ambrose Bierce supplies a startling one. Set in Alabama during the Civil War, Peyton Farquar, a well-to-do, slave owning plantation owner “who was at heart a soldier,” was kept out of the military service for reasons left vague. A Union scout,dressed as a Rebel, stops at his house and suggests burning a near by bridge now in Union hands. Set up, Farquar is caught and ordered to be hanged, during which the rope breaks and he makes good his escape. Upon reaching his home, thirty miles away, his reunion with his wife is cut short by the revelation that the escape was in his mind, he is actually hung! By using the literary elements point of view, setting, and symbolism, the author makes good his surprise.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address Analysis
    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address Analysis

    The story is told of a union soldier who during the early days of the Civil War in America was arrested on the charges of desertion.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Hero
    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Owl Creek Bridge Hero

    To do something spectacular, one must have a purpose. In the beginning Farquhar does not have a purpose in the war, because he is not allowed to be in the war alongside his fellows. Being in the heart of the South, Farquhar, “is certainly dedicated to the southern cause. He owns slaves and is intent on southern victory so he can maintain his livelihood and lifestyle” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Farquhar over hears a rumor that the Owl Creek Bridge needs to be destroyed, so taking into account that he wants to be a hero, Farquhar…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Owl Creek Bridge Suspense
    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Owl Creek Bridge Suspense

    The author uses few details to describe the narrator and does not explain the reason the narrator is being hung, to create a feeling of suspense in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” For example, Bierce states, “Evidently this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.” (Page 2) This quote demonstrates the lack of detail the author used to describe the narrator in the beginning of the story, which helps create and suspenseful mood throughout the text. By not including many descriptive details, the reader is clueless as to why Farquhar is being hung making him a sympathetic character, who is awaiting an undeserved fate. This helps to create suspense because…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

    Throughout the story, we are able to see of different of a world Ambrose Bierce lived in compared to the one that we know. This is the first part of the story that noticed, because in today's world, no man would ever be hung, let alone executed for tampering with a bridge.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Native Son Critical Analysis
    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Native Son Critical Analysis

    Bigger is pressured to fight back against whites from the beginning of the novel. He is miserable in his cramped apartment and yearns to fly away. Instead he is forced to remain complacent with his subhuman treatment until he lashes out. However the practice of entrapment is not limited to Chicago in the 1930s. One example of this is in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. In this short story, the main character, Farquhar meets a Union soldier disguised as a Confederate soldier who tells him that a group of Union soldiers are going to cross a bridge of dry timber that would be easy to burn. While the soldier's deceit is a much less severe case of entrapment than what Bigger encountered, Farquhar never would have attempted to burn the bridge if the supposed confederate soldier had not incited violence in him. This also ties into the Birmingham Church Bombing. African Americans in Birmingham feared for the lives of themselves and their families as the Ku Klux Klan silenced African American voices for civil rights through terroristic threats. At first African Americans felt it was necessary to fight back with equal force, but violent reaction from the black community would have deepened the divide between races in…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    An Occurrence at Ol Creek Bridge
    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages

    An Occurrence at Ol Creek Bridge

    Upon reading "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrouse Bierce I immediately found myself pulled into this story from sentence one. The story is both vivid and simplistically complex. Bierce's telling of this story read like so many movies I've seen in the past. We've all seen these movies. The movie starts in the present or what we preceive to be the present and then like a sling shot catapults us back in time to account for what we've just seen. The story flowed seemlessly through time without leaving me feeling at any point confused about where or when I was. The use of time in this story was used to perfection. It starts in the present takes you back to the past and at certain parts in the story time seems to stand still. While reading this story I often at times felt as if I myself were Peyton Farquhar and that the noose was around my neck. At the begginning of this story one could come to the conclusion that Farquhar was a captured enemy soldier about to be hung for his crimes but as the story evolves we can see that he is something more complex. He's a man of substance and privilege with an insatiable love for his country and way of life. Peyton Farquhar grew up as a rich southerner. He had everything that a man could want at that point in time: a wife, children, land and slaves. For reasons unexplained in the story he was unable to take up arms and fight for his beloved country. Although he had all that a man in his time could want he felt unfulfilled. An evening of relaxation with his wife on the front porch as fate would have it would yield him a chance to take part in the fight and gain some sense of redemption. As they sat they were approached by a Federal scout and was told of events on Owl Creek Bridge. He saw that him destroying the bridge would give him a chance to make his mark in the war. This is why he was willing to do anything as "no service was too humble to him to perform in aid of the south, no…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics