Perception depicts reality. Everyone has their own perception and therefore their own reality. Though we all may occupy the same space my insight on reality may be different than your insight on the same reality. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” depicts many perceptions of a reality. In the story, while Peyton Farquhar’s stands on the bridge next to two privates, he pictures a whole new reality of his situation. Although the privates and Peyton share the same space, they may have different perceptions of the same reality. If the story was depicted from one of the private’s perception, then the reality of the situation would be different.
The private may perceive his reality differently, asserting, “I stood on the bridge ready to hang this young 25 year old man. I do not enjoy what I do, but I am proud that I am serving my country. I was assigned to hang the man at 12:25, as my clock struck at 12:25, I leaned forward to hang the man. He died.” Unlike Peyton’s perception which is detailed since it is the end of his life and he is trying to fully capture every detail, the private perceives the reality plainly because it is his daily event, it plays no significant role.
These scenes show two sides to the same page. Peyton may see the private’s perception of reality as false while the private may see Farquhar’s perception of reality also as being false. Through Peyton’s perception we can see the private as being cold for hanging a man, while through the private’s perception we can see the private as being patriotic. Both of these perceptions are true and false. There are two lies and two truths; it all depends on perception.
This story shows how the writer’s perspective affects the reader’s perception, hence connecting to this class’s theme of how what we read impacts how and/or what we believe.
I found this video online on “An occurrence at the owl Creek Bridge” and thought it was pretty cool.
I think the incorporation of the wristwatch was the most interesting part of this animation. Despite all of our questions about perception and where the truth lies, the one constant is time as we see in the two versions of this story, Peyton Farquhar's survival and death. Time is a measurement that remains constant and unchanging but the question about time is whether we have a life of time to use to our own freewill, or we each have a ticking wristwatch counting down seconds to our inevitable fate. Do we each add to the butterfly effect with every action we choose or are all of our actions predetermined in one large web of fate down to every second of every day?
ReplyDeleteThe question you are asking is an ongoing debate on fate versus freewill, emphasizing whether our actions are based on our predetermined fate or are they our own decisions. The answer to this question once again depends on each individual’s perception, which is the reflection of his or her religion, culture and lifestyle. I personally believe certain destiny is predestined for me, but the mystery behind me not knowing my destiny allows me to think that the choices I am making are my own decisions.
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