An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

A detailed Summary of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge


His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horribly swollen. He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it. His eyes felt congested; he could no longer close them. His tongue was swollen with thirst; he relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from between his teeth into the cold air. How softly the turf had carpeted the untraveled avenue-he cold no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet (par. 35).

Peyton Farquhar, the victim being hanged in this story, envisions these thoughts as his life unknowingly closes out. Throughout the story he imagines himself escaping from the hanging and sees the most positive side possible of his death. Bierce illustrates this optimism through the thoughts of Peyton, and each pa


This pain inflicted upon his neck was not all he was feeling. His eyes began to feel "congested", and he could not close them anymore. The reason for this was the pressure exerted on his entire head from the rope. The rope was so tight that is was cutting off the blood flow leaving the head and traveling downwards to the rest of the body. This caused a build up of pressure in his head, forcing his eyes to begin to bulge out. Peyton also began to feel very thirsty, yet again; it was not thirst, but just his tongue beginning to swell because of the pressure. To relieve himself from this thirst he stuck his tongue out in the air, or so he thought. He was sticking his tongue out in the air because he was dying, which is a common reaction to death.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Peyton Farquhar, , beneath feet, tongue air, neck pain, congested close, circle black, peyton farquhar,

Approximate Word count = 512
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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