The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge begs two seemingly simple questions: what is the real, and what is imagined? However, as the story is seen through the eyes of a dying man, the line separating reality and illusion gradually thins to nothingness.
Farquhar is immediately aware of the platform’s release and the pressure around his neck. He hears a rushing sound in his ears, believing it to be water. However, while there is a stream beneath him, is this truly what he hears? The rushing noise could also be desperate contractions of his airways as he swings beneath the bridge. Furthermore, his hands do not respond to any of his commands, also hinting that all may not be as it seems.
Then as Farquhar makes his way home on the forest path, the trees rise up like black walls. To him, they appear to be only desolate trees, but they represent the curtain to another world, as he “distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue” ensuing from them. Moreover, other physical symptoms assail him, such as swollen eyes and tongue. These symptoms deliver a strong hint to the reader that something is amiss and that Farquhar may not truly be walking along a path.
In the end, Farquhar is shown hanging dead from the noose, and it is not only Farquhar who must question what is real, but also reader. What characteristics of the illusion resulted from the physical effects of the noose, and what was purely invented as a comfort in a dying man’s last moments?
I think this might be one of the most interesting posts on this story. I never thought of Farquhar's physical sympots of dying as mirroring the details of his escape, but it is a brilliant idea and adds even more layers to the story.
ReplyDeleteIf, in fact, the rushing water was his breath rushing from his body, we're forced to ask ourselves if his fantasy is simply something conjured up in his mind to get him through his death with dignity. It could very well be more than that, a full sensory experience that he found himself thrust into and wholly believed.
This would even further merge the "actual" events in the story with the events in Farquhar's "escape".
I truly hope that Bierce intentionally intertwined these details.