Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge makes it almost impossible for readers to distinguish between truth and lie by presenting the age old debate of fantasy v. reality.
Like most readers, I started off this story believing that every event actually happened, in the story at least. I proceeded to read it thinking that Farqhuar escaped his attempted hanging, and made it safely back into the arms of his wife. I was shocked to learn that this isn’t the case at all, and that he in fact fantasized about his wife before dying. It was then that I realized fantasies often hold greater appeal than reality.
Bierce used this idea to ensure his readers would believe Farqhuar has a change of luck, and survives. Instead of focusing on the reality aspect of the story, I, like many others, hoped Farqhuar really did make it out okay. I couldn’t determine truth from lie, fantasy from reality. In the case of this story, the terms are interchangeable. Reality serves as the truth, with Farqhuar's fantasy serving as a lie. Because most people have the natural reaction to "hope for the best", it is almost impossible for these readers to believe what is factual, and what is not.
Bierce plays with a very dangerous idea in this story. Readers have to be careful not to get lost in the lies of fantasies, and face reality. This is a lesson everyone can learn; its an important one that should be applied to everyday life.
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