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Post by meagangcurrie on May 31, 2024 1:40:44 GMT
"An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" follows the story of a man, Peyton Farquhar, as he is about to be hung. He is a slaveowner and implies early on to a solider that he was going to burn Owl Creek Bridge to halt the Union army's advances. The solider, however, was a federal scout and caught Farquhar in the act. As Farquhar is lowered down, a miracle occurs and he breaks free, falling into the river and escaping. As he gets back to his house, he sees his wife running toward him but then darkness.
It was only a dream, a vision, a glimpse into Farquhar's unattainable future. The sudden darkness he experienced was death itself.
The story presents the idea of "life flashing before one's eyes" well with Farquhar looking into the future. Other variations of this idea can include seeing the past. The human mind is powerful, especially when faced with death and other dire circumstances.
I am now going to ask this: Do you believe that Farquhar's strong emotions, observations, beliefs, and thoughts as he faced certain death caused him to have this vision? Is death the only time when life flashes before your eyes? Whys is it that Farquhar seemed to forget about the rope around his neck and create a non-existent reality in his head?
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Post by Dr. Nemmers on May 31, 2024 5:12:22 GMT
Good questions, Meagan! There's so much to unpack in this story, but we can certainly start with this now-cliche idea of one's life flashing before one's eyes.
I like to think of this story as way ahead of its time, not only in its chronological asymmetry but also in its use of stream-of-consciousness to convey Peyton's story. Did Peyton "forget" about the rope around his neck? Or did he "create a non-existent reality in his head" because he knew there was the rope around his neck?
I'd say that we get to see two visions of the future here, or a bifurcated alternate reality that gives us a glimpse of how things might go one way or another. Which story is actually true--or neither-- or is it both at once? What is Bierce trying to tell us about how "reality" is experienced by humans...
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Post by jarelyrebollar on May 31, 2024 14:01:31 GMT
I’ve been thinking about the question of whether Farquhar's strong emotions, observations, beliefs, and thoughts as he faced certain death caused him to have a vision, and to me, the best approach is that he did have a sort of future vision before his death. He thought about escaping, even knowing he'd still face death by the Union soldiers, as he wanted to return to his home and family (and also avoid dying). It could be that in his final moments, he could be trying to comfort himself, and momentarily forget about the noose around his neck. He did somewhat escape the situation by creating a false reality in his head by creating a scenario that the noose was loose.
That's how I interpret the story and question at least.
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Post by mjunious on Jun 3, 2024 16:13:24 GMT
The structure of the story also stood out to me as being ahead of its time. Today, it is almost more radical to implore a linear approach to storytelling because of how often flashbacks and similar devices are used. For Bierce's story, I think it allows the reader to sympathize with this man who is facing death. Knowing that he sided with the Confederacy before, may taint his humanity for some readers. When the reader is plunged into the third act, we already know Farquhar and find ourselves hoping that he can escape in his imagined reality, even imagining, ourselves, where his life's journey will take him next.
Bierce, being a Civil War, Union, veteran, had to find a way to de-villainized the protagonist, his former enemy. Reading through an Existential lens, by doing this, we are able to see a broader message of facing one's death regardless of what side we are on.
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Post by Rylee Wenzel on Jun 5, 2024 2:52:25 GMT
Hey Meagan! I think it is really intriguing to bring up this idea of "life flashing before your eyes" as it pertains to this story. I think that maybe what happened was the author's way of presenting an alternative end to this story. I think that by showing this alternative reality and then ending it with the truth can raise many questions about life after death. Could he really have seen all that the story described? Or was it just an idea that he thought of, moments before death, and, as you said, "forgot" about the rope around his neck?
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