An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

The occurrence, or event, in our story takes place during the Civil War of the eighteen sixties between the American states of the north and the states of the south. During his imagination, Farquhar traverses time to perceive himself as a confederate soldier.Our story today is called, 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The manner in which Farquhar imagines his death escape is as a result of a past reflection “as a federal scout” (Chapter 1, p.1) of the northern scout. Through time, the author creates a fantasy world for Farquhar. Perhaps this confusion and interruption of real events depicts how people struggle to control time and events that affect them in the real life.

The reader only realizes the gap bridged between reality and illusion by the author at the end of the story. However, the subjective nature ultimately allows important events like death to claim the character.Īt this point, it is clear that Farquhar has used the time to create confusion between reality and illusion. Farquhar sees this manipulation of time as a good way of escaping reality. Perhaps this is the reason why Farquhar attempts to manipulate time. The depiction of time as subjective by the author is intriguing. At this time, time depicts a transitional place that is between the present and the past. At this point it is clear that the present events are not favorable to Farquhar. For example, “Farquhar closes his eyes to fix his thoughts” (Chapter II, p.2). This time can either be exhibited in the symbol of sleeping or going into a dream. The author uses the metaphor of time to explain how one can drift into semi-consciousness. For example, the author calls Farquhar “a vast pendulum” (Chapter III, p.3) to show how he is unconscious of the current happenings.

In this respect, the author tries to portray the feelings of the character in a metaphorical manner. In the story, Farquhar seems entangled in his own timeless realm. For example, Farquhar thinks that time goes slow on his side compare to others. The main character in the story perceives time not to favor him. Perhaps the author deems that time favors the fate of each character in the story.

The author uses time to depict events that exemplify reality. It is interesting to observe how the author uses time to interrupt a continuous flow of events. To some extent, the author perception on time is not same to that of other characters.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce