Kachura

American Literature Delery

22 October 2010

Ambrose Bierce published the fiction work, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in 1890, which displays his own personal military knowledge and preference for extensive, yet very plausible, detail, both of which contribute to the essays value in realism in American literature. The essay begins with a description of the protagonist: hands bound with rope behind his back, a noose around his neck, standing at the end of a make-shift plank. Throughout the story, the audience is led to believe that, when he was dropped over the edge of the bridge, the rope snapped, he dodged rapid and continuous gunfire while swimming up a river, and made it home into the arms of his wife; the end of the story reveals that it had all been wishful-thinking, so-to-speak; he, in fact, hangs from the bridge, dead, his neck broken. This buildup of optimism and what should happen is quickly negated by pessimism and what actually happened romanticism of the previous literary era versus the realism of Bierces writing, among others of his time. The conflict of the story is, essentially, the conflict of the Civil War, but put into everyday life terms. Rather than being state against state, Union against Confederacy, its a Southern Loyalist against two Union executioners and their back-up troops. This conflict is relevant to the time period in which the essay appears; with the Civil War having just ended 25 years previous, life in America during war was a common topic in American literature. Following the description of the hanging victim, Bierce goes on to describe the means by which the Owl Creek Bridge is guarded. He even gives the rank of the executioners: a sergeant and a captain. On three occasions, he describes in very accurate detail the position of a soldiers weapon: A sentinel at each end of the bridge stood with his rifle in the position known as support, that is to say, vertical in front of the left shoulder, the hammer resting on the forearm thrown straight across the chest a formal and unnatural position, enforcing an erect carriage of the body; Midway of the slope between bridge and fort were the spectators a single company of infantry in line, at parade rest, the butts of

Kachura

American Literature Delery

22 October 2010

the rifles on the ground, the barrels inclining slightly backward against the right shoulder, the hands crossed upon the stock; A lieutenant stood at the right of the line, the point of his sword upon the ground, his left hand resting upon his right (1477). He goes on to describe the forced reverence of military affairs and the resulting silence. In addition, Bierce goes into thorough detail of every subsequent action. He notes how the victim, Peyton Farquhar, pays mind to how sluggish the stream is, and then begins to chronicle Farquhars thoughts on a particular disturbance in the remembrance of his wife and children: a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion . . . . The intervals of silence grew progressively longer; the delays became maddening. With their greater infrequency the sounds increased in strange and sharpness. They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch (1478). It goes to say that anticipating death can be unnerving. Still, Farquhar has the mental ability to conjure a very detailed plan for survival, reaching his wife and children just beyond the executioners boundaries. His plan goes into action when the rope breaks after falling from the top of the bridge. Bierce then extensively depicts the survival plan being implemented, every detail from the pain in Farquhars body, to the sound that the bullets make while rushing past him in the river. He chronicles every thought that Farquhar has that keeps him alive, not limited to his own pride in refusal to die by gunshot. He does not exclude a single thought that Farquhar has for any reasoning behind any one of his actions, giving the audience a true sense of being. Finally, Bierce illustrates Farquhars last stretch of his journey to safety. He travels through an unfamiliar wood all day, then Bierce notes a transformation in his thoughts; Farquhars attention turns from his surroundings to himself, eventually ending in the notice that he could no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet. Doubtless, despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he sees another scene perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium. He stands at the gate of his own home. Just as he is about to enclose his arms around his wife, the pain returns and all is dark and

Kachura

American Literature Delery

22 October 2010

silent. Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek Bridge (1482). This final result is what is most important in the aspect of categorizing this work of literature as realism. Had Farquhar truly escaped, the sense of reality would have been lost, for extraordinary feats such as his are far from common. In realism, it is important for the reader to feel that they could perform the same tasks as the character is described doing; had Farquhar survived, that fact would have severed the direct relationship between his character and the audience. Overall, this is a very accurately detailed depiction of what seems to be a very real event. Bierces personal military knowledge and description thereof, as well as his knack for impressive detail, capture each moment in the Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and make the story come to life. These two reasons help resonate both the time period in which hes writing, and the genre that the writing fits into.