Essay on Ambrose Bierce

"An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" is an original short story written by Ambrose Bierce in 1890. Bierce has written many supernatural stories and was inspired by his own experiences as an officer in the American Civil War.

The story is set in northern Alabama during the American Civil War. It is a story about a man named Peyton Farquhar. He is a slave owner and a politician. Because of "circumstances of an imperious nature"(line 105) he was not able to take service in the southern armies. But he is an ardent follower of the southern cause and because of that he does what he can to support the South. One evening while Farquhar and his wife are sitting in front of their plantation a grey-clad soldier rides up to the gate and brings news from the front. He makes Farquhar develop a plan to burn and destroy a newly built Federal railroad bridge which crosses Owl Creek. But it is a trap. Peyton does not know that the soldier is actually a Federal scout. That is why Farquhar is caught before he can accomplish his mission. He finds himself standing on the end of a heavy wooden plank with a noose around his neck and his wrists tied with a cord. The captain, the sergeant and two privates of a single Federal company make preparations for the execution when Peyton agonizes over the thought of never holding his wife or seeing his children again. He thinks about everything he will lose when he gets hanged. He closes his eyes and makes a plan to break free. But it is too late. The captain gives the command to step back from the plank. Peyton falls through the bridge timbers. His neck does not break but he nearly suffocates. He struggles for life until the rope breaks and he falls into Owl Creek. He sinks down to the bottom, unable to move or swim. But in a moment of superhuman strength he frees his wrists from the ties and swims to the surface. The soldiers try to shoot him but he can escape and swims downstream away from the bridge. Out of reach he climbs up the embankment and travels all the day to get back home to his beloved family. The thoughts about his wife and his children let him go on although he is tired, footsore and thirsty. The next morning Farquhar finds himself in front of his plantation, all as he left it, bright and beautiful. He pushes open the gate and passes up the white walk. He sees his wife sitting on the veranda awaiting his return. She steps down and stands waiting. But just in the moment he reaches her he feels a