Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is one of the most important American short stories. Set during the American Civil War, it narrates the tale of a Southerner who is hung for treason after trying to go against the Union. Throughout the whole tale, this character, Farquhar Peyton, is seen longing for liberty as he is alienated to Southern aspirations, which serves as a sharp counterpoint to the situation of slaves in the Confederate States.
One of the main motifs of the story is the main character’s yearning for freedom. From the beginning paragraph, Farquhar’s aspirations for freedom are symbolized in his looking down at the running river while having his wrists and neck bound, which is a victimized and enslaved position. He was interested in joining the army but unknown circumstances prevented him from doing it. Indeed, the famous third part of the tale can be seen as a sort of wish fulfillment of freedom through his escape from hanging.
This sense of freedom could even be from the Southern culture itself. In many ways, Bierce presents Farquhar as a fool, from his smile at the moment he is about to be hung to his deception by a Federal scout. Toying with the word gentleman, the author invites the reader to reflect on the main character’s moral compass with respect to his society. The ideal for Southern males was to be a gentleman and on the surface, Farquhar seems to be one; nevertheless, his subversive actions play against this. While trying to reach this Southern ideal, he risks and loses his life. Furthermore, his escapist dream at the end of the story could be thought of as cowardice; while he supposedly will individually do anything to save his part of the country and its lifestyle, at the end there is a great, almost climactic sensation when he arrives home safely.
This yearning for liberty from a Southern gentleman serves as an interesting counterpoint to the slave situation in the Confederate states at the time of the Civil War, when this story is set. Slavery was one of the main differences between the North and the South that caused this war. However, in the story the word is only mentioned twice, with only four words of separation, when it comes to describing the main character. As one can see, being a slave owner was one of this person’s defining characteristics, yet he seems to be enslaved himself. Besides the binding imagery, he is referred to as being “chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies” (Bierce); he is trying to escape shackles that have been imposed on him, like they were on the dark-skinned population in that time.
In conclusion, one of the most important aspects of Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a reflection on liberty and slavery, as manifested through the main character’s desire for freedom and the Civil War setting. Through the author’s descriptions, one can see that Farquhar Peyton is a man who is not content with his life, in which he feels bound, and would like to break free. Social Southern conventions serve as shackles for this person, who may superficially be seen as a gentleman but who is portrayed as a fool. This serves as a point of comparison with what was happening with African-Americans in the South at the time, implying that white Southerners were also slaves.
Reference List
Bierce, A. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. Fiction: The Eserver Collection. Retrived from: http://fiction.eserver.org/short/occurrence_at_owl_creek.html.
