Previous
Characters
Farquhar is the protagonist of the story, and indeed most of the pertinent action involves him and him alone. He’s the only character given a formal name (not even his wife gets such a courtesy), and Bierce spends a great deal of time on his physical description. He’s a handsome Alabama plantation owner, a gentleman with “a well-fitting frock coat” and “a mustache and pointed beard, but no whiskers.” He comes from a prosperous background and carries the air of an aristocrat about him. Yet Farquhar is about to be hanged, which gives Bierce a chance to indulge in the dry irony which his work became famous for: “The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded,” Bierce writes. Farquhar is a slave owner dedicated to the Confederate cause, and willing to risk his own safety to advance it. Hence, he is duped into trying to sabotage a Union stockade at Owl Creek Bridge and sentenced to death by hanging as a result. This suggests a sincere devotion to his cause, but it also subtly paints him in a surprisingly negative light for a protagonist; though Bierce is careful to keep his descriptions of Farquhar objective and factual, hints crop up here and there that the story’s “hero” is actually deeply morally compromised. He is “ like other slave owners a politician,” Bierce proclaims. This links his motivations clearly to the South, and as such to the concept of slavery. The reader may feel for him since he is the underdog and possesses the seemingly pure motivation of getting back to his family, but Bierce reminds the reader that the man “assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war,” and thus suggests that justice may be served by hanging him after all.
Peyton Farquhar Quotes in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
The An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge quotes below are all either spoken by Peyton Farquhar or refer to Peyton Farquhar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Quotes
A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below. The man's hands were behind his back, the wrists bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Bierce was renowned for his economy of language—conveying a lot of detail without using a lot of words—and the opening of the story makes a strong example of his skill. Very quickly the reader understands that they’re witnessing an execution. Its location in Alabama and seeming impromptu placement on a bridge hints at swift action: a summary execution without a trial or legal proceeding. There’s already a sense of doom about the story, and the Civil War setting, while not directly stated, is strongly implied by the mention of the southern state of Alabama. In addition, the sparse description—devoid of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipi
A lieutenant stood at the right of the line, the point of his sword upon the ground, his left hand resting upon his right. Excepting the group of four at the center of the bridge, not a man moved.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The Union soldiers represent military efficiency, and this early description as Farquhar awaits his fate is typical of the way Bierce describes them. Blank, interchangeable, adhering to the letter of every military protocol, their actions aren’t influenced by emotion or passion. They’re simply doing a job, as proclaimed by their army and order by their commanders. Executing Farquhar is the same as stacking wood or getting dressed: it’s just something they do as soldiers. This helps emphasize the differences between Farquhar and his captors, and the sides they represent in the Civil War: the mechanized industrial North against the passionate Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. P
Evidently this was no vulgar assassin. The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Bierce continues his description of Farquhar as he waits to be hanged. This is another strong example of conveying a lot of information with very few words. Bierce states that the man to be hanged is a gentleman, or of a higher breed than one might expect for a simple criminal. And yet he’s going to be hanged all the same. In one sense, Bierce is using the irony to make a statement about Farquhar’s political views: as a defender of the South, he’s a criminal worthy of hanging. He’s also deflating the notion that one man can be superior Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam elig
A piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes followed it down the current. How slowly it appeared to move! What a sluggish stream!
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As the time of his hanging approaches, time seems to slow as Farquhar becomes hyperaware of his surroundings. Bierce makes use of foreshadowing here again by pointing out a small and seemingly trivial detail in the middle of the scene he has just set. It suggests that, as the end nears, Farquhar’s senses take in as many details as they can before going silent for good. This hints at Farquhar’s preternaturally keen senses after the rope “breaks” and the hypersensitive details he absorbs, which in turn represents a wavering line between life and death. In that sense, his fixation on Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam
He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thought upon his wife and children.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In the moments before his hanging, Farquhar thinks of his family. This has a bearing both on what Farquhar did to earn his death sentence, and is what propels his final hallucination of escape and freedom. His wife and children, and the life they represent, are what occupy his final thoughts. This foreshadows their later appearance at the end of his strange and disturbing journey, and just as subtly, helps color his justification for attempting sabotage. In the most immediate sense, he’s trying to protect them and the purity he believes they represent. But he’s also trying to protect the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus.
They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Farquhar hears a sharp sound interrupting his thoughts of his family that he finally identifies as coming from his own watch. This in part reflects his awareness of the seconds of his life relentlessly passing by. The ticking watch is also one of the most powerful symbols of the piece, bringing together all of the story’s thematic components into a single unforgettable image. First, its mechanical beats and ruthless efficiency echo the movements of the Union soldiers, who perform their actions with similar precision (which in this case will lead to Farquhar’s death by hanging). Second, the intensity with which Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accus
“My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invader's farthest advance.”
As these thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were flashed into the doomed man's brain rather than evolved from it, the captain nodded to the sergeant.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This is the moment of transition in the story: when the hanging takes place and Farquhar experiences his final thoughts. Bierce appears to be laying the logical groundwork for the hallucination that follows: noting the use of words, which take time to read, to convey the briefest little instant in Farquhar’s mind. That provides an explanation for the hours and hours he seemingly experiences in the hallucination, despite occurring in the space of only an instant inside of his head. It also sets up Farquhar’s family as his central motivator for escaping and getting home. By fixing his final thoughts Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Qu
Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician, he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Bierce abruptly shifts from the moment of Farquhar’s hanging to a more general description of the doomed man’s background. Notably, Bierce adheres strictly to realism in his story, which means his personal political views tend to stay out of the way. Still, this passage is a very subtle indicator of the author feels regarding the South and the Civil War in general. He’s implicating Farquhar in slavery: stating that the very act of owning slaves makes one “political” and aligned with the Southern cause. That makes Farquhar’s execution more than just the brutality of the Union Army occupying conquered territory. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provid
He was now in full possession of his physical senses. They were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Bierce returns to the present, in the moments after the order was giving for Farquhar’s hanging to commence. Farquhar loses consciousness briefly before awaking in the river below and attempting to outrun shooting Union soldiers. This moment harks back to the ticking watch, and earlier examples of Farquhar’s senses becoming sharper than normal. It’s also a firm signal that the story is moving into the realm of Farquhar’s hallucination, and the the reader is seeing the world form his point of view rather than a more objective reality. Bierce remains matter-of-fact about this sudden switch—in keeping with the story’s realist Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam offic
He observed that it was a gray eye and remembered having read that gray eyes were keenest, in that all famous marksmen had them. Nevertheless, this one had missed.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Still believing himself to be running from the Union soldiers, Farquhar hones in on the fact that one of the men shooting at him has gray eyes. As Farquhar’s senses continue to sharpen, the story’s tone becomes increasingly surreal. The link between gray eyes and marksmanship, for instance, seems arbitrary, and lacks any corresponding evidence to support it. It’s also immediately contradicted by the fact that the guardsman missed. Not only does it emphasize Farquhar’s now almost supernatural vision—able to spot the color of a marksman’s eyes as he swims madly away from that marksman—but it links those abilities to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptat
Overhead, as he looked up through this rift in the wood, shone great golden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations. He was sure they were arranged in some order which hid a secret and malign significance. The wood on either side was full of singular noises, among which—once, twice, and again—he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
At this point Farquhar believes that he has run madly into a strange wood to escape the Union soldiers. Here, the story most closely resembles that of a horror novel. The surreal surroundings have become actively alien, with an air of menace around them: strange whispers form the woods and constellations with no earthly origin. This represents concrete proof that whatever Farquhar is experiencing, it is distinct from objective reality, and that he is either hallucinating or has moved into a different plane of existence after he has died. In that sense, it can be viewed as a further extension Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscip
As he pushes open the gate and passes up the wide white walk, he sees a flutter of female garments; his wife, looking fresh and cool and sweet, steps down from the veranda to meet him.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Farquhar’s thoughts were fixed on his family the moment the noose went taught, and throughout his escape he’s sought a way back home to them. Here, he finally reaches them, and they seem to embody all the relief from the pain he’s felt. It might be a vision of heaven: an ideal world full of love and joy surrounded by loved ones. Yet since Bierce has already undermined the “purity” of Farquhar’s family, this vision of heaven is itself very problematic: stemming from his impressions and emotions rather than the truth of his slave-owning status. His vision is strong enough Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut
As he is about to clasp her, he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the neck; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon - then all is darkness and silence!
Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
The famous twist at the end of the story reveals that Farquhar’s escape was just a hallucination and that he was actually hanged for his attempted act of sabotage after all. It occurs just as he reaches his supposed destination and is about to clasp his beloved wife for the first time since his ordeal began. In addition to the obvious irony of ending up on the wrong end of a rope instead of in the arms of his beloved, it serves as a further commentary on Farquhar’s status as a slaveowner. The vision of his family stems from the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum d
Get the entire An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Peyton Farquhar Character Timeline in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
The timeline below shows where the character Peyton Farquhar appears in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
At a railroad bridge overlooking a small creek in Northern Alabama, a man stands with a noose around his neck and his hands tied behind him. He’s guarded...
(full context)
The Union soldiers finish their preparations, leaving the man to be executed standing over the stream at the end of a plank. A sergeant...
(full context)
As he contemplates his last moments, the condemned man fixates on a piece of driftwood moving lazily down the stream. He attempts to set...
(full context)
The man thinks of his family again and contemplates some final means by which he might escape...
(full context)
...the events that led to the man’s execution. His is a slave-owning farmer named Peyton Farquhar, dedicated to the Southern cause in the U.S. Civil War. He has a plantation near...
(full context)
One evening, a man in a Confederate uniform rides up to Farquhar’s home and asks for a drink of water. While Farquhar’s wife gets the water, he...
(full context)
As Farquhar falls towards the river, he seems to lose consciousness. He appears to slowly regain his...
(full context)
Farquhar struggles towards the surface and takes in a huge gulp of air. His senses have...
(full context)
The Union soldiers begin to shoot at Farquhar and he swims away, after noting that one of the Union sharpshooters has gray eyes—supposedly...
(full context)
Farquhar runs into the forest, away from the Union soldiers. As he does so, he notes...
(full context)
The scene shifts, and Farquhar stands at the front gate of his home. As he moves forward, his wife comes...
(full context)
Farquhar’s escape was a figment of his imagination. He’s hanged dead at the end of the...
(full context)
