An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

“An Occurrence at Owl Bridge Creek”, by Ambrose Bierce, is a very suspenseful and exciting story. The way Bierce made the story jump back and forth is particularly interesting. The imagination Bierce must have had to write a story is outstanding. The main character in the story, Peyton Farquhar, was a very patriotic man. Even though he is not supporting the right cause, he is still very passionate about what he believes. Bierce writes, “he was naturally and original secessionist and ardently devoted to the southern cause.”(Bierce 391) Farquhar was not able to fight for the Confederacy, but he still wanted to help any way he could. Bierce writes, “No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South” (Bierce 392). No matter what Peyton Farquhar was asked to do to aid the Confederacy, he would do it. Farquhar was tricked by a Federal scout, but he did not know it. That is what led him to be captured. In doing what he could to slow the advancing Union army, Farquhar was caught trying to burn down a bridge. Bierce creates the image of a southern hero, and the reader is intrigued by what he has done. Peyton Farquhar was not able to join the Confederate Army, but he was still fighting for what he believed to be right.

Henry David Thoreau is the opposite of Ambrose Bierce. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau is clearly disappointed in his government, “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.”(Thoreau 223) At that time none of the states had seceded form the Union, and the government still supported slavery. Thoreau did not appreciate the fact that he had to pay taxes to something he did not support. Ralph Waldo Emerson writes in “Self-Reliance”, “It is only as man puts off all foreign support, and stands alone, that I see him to be strong and to prevail.”(Emerson 322) Emerson and Bierce have a similar philosophy. Farquhar was alone in his act, and Emerson sees that as a strong attribute.

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. 97-99. Print.

Emerson, R. Waldo. "From Self-Reliance." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.

Thoreau, D. Henry. "From Civil Disobedience." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.