Monday, January 24, 2011
Mislead Intentionally?
Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a short novel about a man named Peyton Farquhar who is basically tricked into his own death. And just as he was tricked, so are we when we read this interesting story. It leads us to believe that Farquhar had escaped and is alive when all the while he's really dead. Some people don't believe that it was Bierce's intention to trick the reader into believing one thing and then showing them in the end that everything they believed throughout the previous chapter was all just a pigment of Farquhar's imagination. Personally, I think it was meant to trick the reader because honestly the story would be kind of dull and boring in my opinion if it didn't have this sort of twist to it. What do you all think?
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Although I cannot assume what Bierce's intention was, I think the best way to absorb the story when you first read it is by believing Farquhar's illusion to be true. If not, the reader could see the details and the imagery as less important because it is not actually occurring. Also, the illusion creates suspension and a want to continue reading to see if he actually is successful at escaping death. The illusion leads the reader to want to root for Farquhar, and allows the reader to become emotionally involved by wanting him to succeed.
ReplyDeleteI would say that Bierce had intentions to lure his reader in, just like any author. The fact that Farquhar actually believed that he was escaping makes it all the more tragic at the end. Bierce portrays the story in this fashion so it isn't just any old sad story about someone dying, it has deeper empathy because both you and the character really believed it that the escape was real.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Even though there are "clues" to the ending, the reader is still misled to a certain degree. I do believe the ending surprise was intentional, though we are unable to know the author's true intentions. Without the air of trickery, the book would just seem uneventful (though still well written and interesting) and would not lure readers into rereading the story. However, the "misleading" is due to the readers' assumptions and hopes rather than a flat out lie.
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