Skip to main content

How does Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" relate to its time?

This story was first published in 1890, some 25 years after the end of the American Civil War.  Though the story takes place during the time of the war, and though it presents a Southern plantation owner and secessionist who is wholly devoted to the Southern cause, it does not paint him as pure villain.  In fact, Bierce gives the reader one major way in which to relate to Peyton Farquhar: all he wants is...

This story was first published in 1890, some 25 years after the end of the American Civil War.  Though the story takes place during the time of the war, and though it presents a Southern plantation owner and secessionist who is wholly devoted to the Southern cause, it does not paint him as pure villain.  In fact, Bierce gives the reader one major way in which to relate to Peyton Farquhar: all he wants is to escape his death sentence and return home to be with his wife and children.  He wants this so much that he actually imagines, in the time it takes him to drop from the bridge into the noose, that he has almost achieved it.  Farquhar isn't presented as particularly villainous at all (any details that would draw attention to his slave-ownership, for example, are left out of the story), but rather, he seems like a pretty normal guy with pretty normal hopes.  Therefore, the story seems to focus, not on the villainy of the South or the horrors of slavery as earlier literature was more apt to do, but on the civilian toll, the other costs, of war.  Bierce almost seems to encourage us to feel sympathetically for Farquhar in the end, his neck snapped by the noose just as he feels he's about to embrace his wife.  Such a position is indicative of the story's relation to its time.  The emotions that ran high during and immediately after the Civil War have had time to cool, and people have become more able to see war, in general, as a real evil.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more