An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

During the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" the author takes us on a journey through the life of a young man.  The story starts out in the present and then switches gears to the past before switching back to the present and imagining a perfect scenario of escaping the wrath of the Northern army. Poor Peyton Farquhar was faced with death because he fought for the South in an attempt to sabotage the railroad (Bierce).  The railroad was a crucial weapon for the northern army during the time because it provided an easy way off transportation of goods, ammo, guns, supplies, and men to different places of battle.  Without the railroad the movement of soldiers would have been slow and difficult, but now the north could surround the south in the matter of a night without them even knowing.

Since Farquhar was declined acceptance into the Southern Army, he was determined to serve his side well by doing something that would benefit them.  By sabotaging the railroad, it would cause for disruption and serve as a distraction giving the south the upper hand (Bierce).  It is evident that Farquhar was for the South because of his attempt to join the SOUTHERN army and the fact that he was a plantation owner that farmed land (Bierce).  Thoreau and Farquhar would have never gotten along simply because of their outlooks on slavery.  Both had strong opinions and both were faithful to what they believed in.  For Farquhar this was evident when he attempted to set fire to the railroad and for Thoreau this is evident in his writings that he despised slaver and wanted it gone forever.  Most of this story had detailed descriptions of the natural surroundings and the places in nature that served as the setting of the story.  This was one thing that the two of them had in common and that was their passion for nature.



Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 387-396. Print.

Bruccoli, Matthew J., and Judith S. Baugman. "Peyton Farquhar." Student's Encyclopedia of American Literary Characters. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 20 Feb. 12.