An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ambrose Bierce
- First Published: 1891
- Type of Work: Short story
- Genres: Short fiction, Gothic fiction
- Subjects: South or Southerners, Civil War, Death or dying, Armies, Horror
- Locales: Alabama
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is by far Bierce's most widely read story, and it may also be his best. It focuses on Peyton Farquhar, a Southern planter and part-time Confederate conspirator, who, as the story opens, is about to be hanged on the Owl Creek bridge for having attempted to burn it. As Farquhar is being hanged, the reader is told, the rope breaks and he plunges alive into the water below. The rest of the story recounts his escape down the creek and then through the forest toward his home. Just as he reaches his house, where his wife awaits him, he feels a sharp...
[The entire page is 1045 words long]
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