An Occurrence at Owl Creek Brigde

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Brigde

  • Submitted By: CRags2013
  • Date Submitted: 04/30/2013 3:43 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 554
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 87

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is divided into three sections. In section one Payton Farquhar is standing on a railroad bridge, twenty feet above the water. His wrists are tied behind his back and around his neck is a rope noose that is tied to a beam above him. He is standing on top of the loose planks that have been laid over the railroad crossties to make something of the soft of a platform. Two soldiers from the Northern army, a sergeant and a captain immediately surround him, awaiting the execution. Beyond them, armed sentinels stand at attention. The bridge is bordered on one side by the forest, and across the other side the stream open ground that gives way to a hillock on which a small fort stood. A motionless company of a soldier of the infantry, led by their lieutenant, stands assembled at the fort. The sergeant salutes the captain then positions himself on the opposite end of the board supporting Farquhar to dangle from the bridge’s edge. Farquhar shuts his eyes to push away the distractions of his present situation and focus more intently on thoughts of his wife and children. Farquhar hears the sound of his watch. Farquhar imagines freeing his hands, removing the noose, and plunging in the stream, swimming to freedom and his home, safely outside the enemy lines. These thoughts have barely registered in Farquhar’s mind when the captain nods to the sergeant and the sergeant steps away from the board.
In section two, we learn that Farquhar was a successful planter, devoted to the southern cause. Unable to join the confederate army, he yearned to help the South war in some significant way. One evening, Farquhar and his wife were sitting on the edge of their property when a union soldier rode up, seeking a drink of water. The soldier was dressed in confederate colors. Farquhar asked for news of the front and was informed Northern forces had repaired the railroads to launch another advance, having reached Owl Creel Bridge. Any civilian caught...

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