Occurene at Owl Creek

First Reading

The very first sentenced we are introduced to man that is about to be hanged for doing something wrong. This is definitely set back in the war time’s maybe the civil war. The man might be a black man and being hanged for jus being black but sense there are soldiers on both ends I am assuming it must be a war thing maybe he is on the opposing side and has been captured. Bierce really uses great description about the weapons and details them. Bierce also talks about the respect of death in the last sentence of the first paragraph so we know that this man will be killed by the hanging. We find out a lot about the man that is fixing to be hanged we know he is about thirty five, nice looking and a gentleman. He worked An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

as a planter he even describes his dark eyes. I think that this man is not just an introduction to the story but the main character because he wouldn’t take so much time detailing him if he was just going to die and that is it. It takes a long time to hang the man and why know exactly how it will be done. I think it is funny that the civilian that is being hanged notices the water and how sluggish it was. I wonder if he might be thinking about an escape from this rope. I don’t see how he could with all the soldiers, guns, and the rope around his neck but maybe he is. The man loves his family and thinks of them right before his death and the intense sound was the sound of his life ticking by he could not handle it. The description of the gold water is great I can imagine the scene perfectly. Well the author took us right into the man mind and I am right he is thinking of an escape, a very thoughtful one. In two lines we find that he is a family man with a wife and kids and he cares about them to be thinking of them in such a tragic state. Bierse left us at the end of chapter one with the sergeant stepping off the bland that was going to kill this man. Does the man try his escape or not. Escaping can not hurt him either way he has a chance at dieing if he stays he will die or might have a chance. We meet Peyton in this chapter who works for the south and isn’t a soldier but will do what he can for them. It took me a second to think about but I think he is the one being hanged because it tells us that he is a planter just like the one being hanged and if true he is a well to do one. Well it’s easy to assume the Peyton did not listen to the order and he did mess with the bridge or tunnel because now he is being hanged. This is the first mention of Owl Creek Bridge I think this must be the bridge that he must have messed with. He is asking this man what he could do to destroy the bridge. I hope the man is on his side. Well it’s obvious that he will burn the bridge but why. I wonder what he means by saying he is a student of hanging. Maybe he has been hanged before and has got out of it. Now we are back to the hanging Bierce used flashback in a neat way in the middle introduced a man that could be the one being hanged then lets us know that it is him. Uses great description on how it felt to have the tight rope around his neck and when he feel in the water there was a lot of intensity because Peyton could have still died the light kept getting fainter then brighter it cam and we new he would make it now all he has to worry with is bullets. Peyton is ok with dieing from being hanged or drowned but not being shot for some reason. I was panicking to get out of the water the author makes it seem like it is a game like getting out of all this is just a game and getting out alive is the goal. He notices everything after coming to from falling in the water in such detail he sees these things like the bodied flies, and hears the fish body rushing through the water as if he has gratitude for being alive. When he saw the soldiers and executioners he saw them as monsters only the sergeant had a gun but no shots have been fired, why are they waiting. Are they not going to shoot him? They are shooting now and he even notices the eyes of the man that is shooting why the author points out such great detail and how is this man noticing these things. You can image Peyton swimming and the bullets just falling all around but none harming him. Maybe his still make it home. They are desperate to kill Peyton especially if they are wiling to use cannon he must be more than a civilian who caught a bridge on fire he is against the north. We can really understand his gratitude for being alive we can realize how happy he must be to see the sand as jewels and the weeds as plants organized perfectly he is very content just to stay there and rest awhile. He rest an awakes