Example Of An Occurrence At The Owl Creek Bridge Argumentative Essay

An occurrence at the Owl Creek Bridge is a short story written by an American author Ambrose Bierce. He served in army during the Civil War and the story is influenced with his own experiences of that time. It is divided in two three sections where Peyton Farquhar is the main character ordered to be hanged. His unsuccessful attempt of blowing the bridge up during the Civil War resulted in his sentence by Union Soldiers. He was tricked by a Northern soldier to take such a step. First part explains the present scenario and how the execution was about to take place, second part deals with the flashbacks and background of happening events whereas the third one is about Peyton’s illusionary escape and reality.
The story is extremely famous in American literature and one of the widely anthologized stories. However, readers often sympathize with the twisted fate of Peyton and regard his sentence as unjustified order. War is war and it is often said that all is fair in war and love. After analyzing the rationale and possible consequences of the actions taken by opponent, such a reaction by patriots and freedom fighter is expected. Farquhar failed in his attempts of burning the bridge down. No one intentionally wants such a fate for himself and there is a subtle possibility that he was misguided or set up in to this. More investigations could be done to dig into the issue before giving the final verdict. He might be guilty of committing the crime but his crime might not be as intense as the ones rendering to death penalties. The Civil war is quite different from just a conflict or an incident of disagreement. The proponent must not be too hasty in deciding the fate of a common civilian especially of the land which is already suffering. They must be protagonists of humanity. It is not argued that Farquhar is not guilty but the investigation could be done to identify the actual cause of his actions, reasons behind it and extent of the violation done right according to the law and legal framework. Final verdict could then be given based on the facts, realities and hidden stories. He was trapped in to this and the bridge is still not blown. The opponent must consider the possibility of opposite.
Moreover, Farquhar was not given any chance to defend himself or speak about his crime. This is against the laws and morality. He only had the choice to fantasize his escape but not make it into a reality. An individual when faces extreme trauma and series of painful events, his brain switches off “being conscious” mode. This phenomenon is natural and has a psychological basis which the opponent must consider. It is against the norms of humanity to decline the moral law even if all other laws crease to be effective in the state of war.
The creativity of author is putting up such complex details make the story an interesting read. It puts the readers on to a roller coaster unlike the typical stories where for a moment they start to believe that Peyton is actually free. The diversity in the plots, twist in the ending and the complex theme of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” later anticipated the work of several psychological fiction writers.