Essay Questions

Why is the ending of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” so famous?

The ending of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is one of the best examples of a twist ending. Peyton Farquhar's miraculous escape alludes to the fact he is doomed to die in the end. The hanging, the fall, and the gunfire Farquhar survives makes the reader question what is actually occurring. The fact Farquhar is hallucinating the escape is constantly foreshadowed throughout the short story. The woods the saboteur walks through are not familiar to him. The stars he sees are not the ones he knows. If one knows the twist ending, it becomes clear Farquhar is traveling through a dying dream. When Farquhar returns to his wife (the story's most intimate moment) he, and the reader, are torn away back to his death. The twist is as shocking to the reader as it is to the character.

How does Bierce use violence to show the arbitrary nature of warfare?

Violence is omnipresent throughout all of Bierce's Civil War short stories. This violence shows how little value life has in war. Men, woman, children, patriots, and traitors all die just the same. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, despite his sacrifices for the South, Peyton Farquhar is still executed despite his miraculous escape. In “A Son of the Gods”, the scout's efforts still result in the exact same massacre he attempted to prevent. The main character of “One of the Missing” is forgotten among the dead simply because his uniform is gray. There is no justice in any of these short stories. Violence may solve the question of slavery between the Union and the Confederacy, but it still destroys the lives of the citizens. In all these short stories, the characters die for a higher goal which fails them. Violence solves nothing for the characters as individuals.

In what way does Bierce explore the impact of war through his short stories?

Bierce uses many identities and perspectives to explore the American Civil War. All the short stories show how war changes every person who lives through it. It impacts each person differently. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” focuses on the Confederate saboteur Peyton Farquhar who is a usually honorable man. The crisis of the war drives Farquhar to take drastic action which results in his death. “A Horseman in the Sky” depicts how the Civil War (and warfare in general) divides families. It also displays how the setting of warfare can either create or justify extreme decisions. War is the only time where the taking of a life is truly justified. “Chickamauga” views warfare from the perspective of a child. It is another short story that shows how families can be the victims of war. The Civil War brought the destruction of many lives across the South. The purpose of horror in the short stories is not to terrify but to show the reality of war.