An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is an excellent example of realism. "The difference between realism and naturalism is compared often to that between a painting as opposed to a photograph, assuming that the photographer also does not choose which details to include in the frame of the picture" (Werlock). So realists would be the ones who describe everything as it actually is. The story starts as Farquhar is standing on a bridge to be hanged. He is there because he was tricked by a Union soldier and was caught trying to burn that very bridge down. He hears a very loud noise, like someone banging an anvil next to him and soon he realizes it is his watch ticking his final seconds down. He waits for each tick and they come slower and slower. Soon he thinks he can escape by jumping into the stream, but he soon forgets about it and thinks of his wife and kids. This is telling things how they actually are. He tells of how the seconds feel like minutes and he is very descriptive with everything around him. The big part of realism is how he talks of how slow the ticks of his watch feel. The story then tells us that Farquhar is a pretty average guy. He is in his thirties and he has a wife and kids. He is a Planter, owns some slaves, and is also a pretty big Confederate supporter. This is when he is tricked into burning down the bridge, which is illegal. Any one who is caught interfering with the railroads is subject to be hung. So when we read this we are told of everything how he is supposed to be hung and why. It is very descriptive and leaves all the details. Such as if I described a beautiful summer day but still told about the mosquitos bothering me for most of the day. But this relates to realism because it is also very descriptive and tells us of how an enemy to Farquhar tricks him out of his own life. Bierce then tells us of how Farquhar is hung and the rope breaks and he falls down into the stream. He finds himself unknowingly getting his hands and neck untied from the bonds and noose. He returns to the surface and tells of how he can see individual blades of grass. Then a soldier begins shooting at him and so Farquhar swims away and makes it to dry land. He then walks thirty miles through the forest to his house, but on his way he hears strange noises and even believes he falls asleep while walking. He then reaches his house but feels a sharp pain in his neck and this whole flashback of falling into the stream ends and he is dead hanging from the bridge. D'Ammassa tells us how this happens and the reader is taken through all of these immense and intense details. It is hard to describe them the way Bierce does, because he is so descriptive with his words and he makes everything lifelike. It is a psychological adventure that happens in the matter of literally fractions of a second.


D'Ammassa, Don. "'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'." Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 18, 2011.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Jan 18, 2011.