An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Naturalism Analysis

Naturalism in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” takes place in the south during the civil war, in which a man named Farqhar experiences illusions before his execution. In these illusions he is dreaming of escaping from the Northerners and continuing with his life, however his dreams are abruptly cut short. Ambrose Bierce relies on incongruity and imagery to suggest the theme of naturalism in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” One naturalistic view is that man is alone in the world, and his fate is completely out of his control. To start with Farqhar is a member and supporter of the confederacy and, in addition, a slave owner himself. Therefore even if he had escaped from the Union Army, he would have lost his lifestyle in the end. Another point was that he was, even in his dream, isolated from the outside world. In his imagery-rich dream he said, “It was as wide and straight as a city street, yet it seemed untraveled. No fields bordered it, no dwelling anywhere. Not so much as the barking of a dog suggested human habitation.” This means that even though he had been born and raised in that exact area, he still seemed isolated from everything.

In the story, Farqhar was cut off from his family and friends, in his attempt to help to confederacy by destroying Owl Creek Bridge, which was a major supply line for the Union Army. The second he was cut off from his peers by the Union, he was ultimately doomed, because of this naturalistic law. In the story, he says he was trying to escape to get back to the safety of his family, when he says, “If I could free my hands, I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream. By diving I could evade the bullets and swimming vigorously reach the bank, take to the woods and get away