naturalism occurs at owl creek bridge · naturalism occurs at owl creek bridge “an occurrence at...
TRANSCRIPT
Naturalism Occurs at Owl Creek Bridge
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce, is a short story that has been
commonly misinterpreted. It’s been classified mostly as realism about war and even as
psychological realism; however, this is a story about naturalism. It’s obvious why it’s been
classified under realism concerning war—because it’s about the civil war—and psychological
realism—because half of the story takes place in the subconscious part of Farquhar’s brain—but
the elements of naturalism override these assumptions. Three specific naturalist elements are
present that make this piece a naturalist piece: the narrator has a completely passive and
objective voice, the story points out that nature doesn’t care to distinguish between one animal
and another (including humans), and finally that if man tries to conquer nature he will fail.
The first element, an objective narrator, is present mostly in the beginning of the story.
Actually, the first two words in the first sentence give away the passive narrator. “A man stood
upon a railroad bridge…” (171). The first character mentioned, and the main character of the
story, is simply a man. He isn’t even named until the ninth paragraph. Even after the narrator
decides to name him, he is still referred to as “the hunted man” (177). One of the most passive
statements made by the narrator, “the man who was engaged in being hanged was apparently
about thirty-five years of age,” continues this pattern of objective narration (172). Even when the
story is taking place inside Farquhar’s brain the narrator doesn’t bother with much emotion; this
journey inside Farquhar’s brain is still passive. The final sentence, “Peyton Farquhar was dead;
his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl
Creek bridge,” is probably the sentence which is the most devoid of emotion (178). The narrator
doesn’t care if Farquhar lived or died. One defining characteristic of naturalism is the passive
narrator which most definitely present in this short story.
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The second element of naturalism found in this piece of literature is that nature doesn’t
care to distinguish between one animal and another, which makes humans just as important as a
rat. The most prevalent show of this relationship happens after Farquhar “falls” in the river. He
thinks to himself, “to die of hanging at the bottom of a river!” (175). Here, the author takes a
human form of corporal punishment and turns it into a natural one: drowning. When Farquhar is
at the bottom of the river but begins to rise, he “knew it with reluctance, for he was now very
comfortable” (175). Also, when he had made it to the shore, “he had no wish to perfect his
escape—was content to remain in that enchanting spot until retaken” (177). At these points,
Farquhar would rather stay with the natural way of things. He wants to stay and be a part of
nature and would be happy with whatever the outcome would be. Later, when he finally gets
loose from his bands and he finds himself on the shore away from danger, “he dug his fingers
into the sand, threw it over himself in handfuls and audibly blessed it” (177). Then he describes
the sand as “diamonds, rubies, emeralds; he could think of nothing beautiful which it did not
resemble” (177). Here, the narrator is making the human appreciate nature as something equal,
or even better, than him. Now there is no distinct line between the human experience and nature.
Bierce has shown that man has no more importance to nature then a fish does. If a crab can roll
around and love the sand, so can Peyton Farquhar.
It’s also important to note that there are three paragraphs in this story completely
dedicated to Farquhar’s perception of nature and its details. The first is found on page 175 after
Farquhar rises from the bottom of the river and is free of his restricting bands. Bierce describes
what Farquhar is seeing and feeling through a natural perspective. He doesn’t see or hear the
railroad bridge, the soldiers, or the guns. He only is conscious of nature. In the second paragraph
dedicated to a description of nature, found on page 177, is right after Farquhar made it to shore.
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Instead of rejoicing in his escape, he is observing nature. Once again, he is only conscious of
nature, as if he was a part of it. Finally, the third paragraph, found on page 178, is describing his
trip back home. Farquhar was thinking about home and his family, when he suddenly begins to
be a part of nature again. The “wood on either side was full of singular noises, among which—
once, twice, and again—he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue” (178). Farquhar had
become such a part of nature that he was beginning to hear its voice. These three, rather long,
paragraphs cannot be ignored in such a short story. Bierce wouldn’t have dedicated such space to
something unless it was important and added to the meaning of the story.
The last but most prevalent show of naturalism in this story is that if man tries to conquer
nature he will fail, coupled with the belief that nature conquers all. First of all, Bierce makes
Farquhar a planter. It was Farquhar’s job to manipulate nature in a way that benefits him;
however, in the end, it’s his position as a planter that allows him to hear about this opportunity
for setting back the Union soldiers, which eventually results in his death. Bierce also shows that
man cannot conquer nature by making Farquhar’s illusion of escape largely helped by nature. In
his mind, Farquhar can conquer nature, so in his subconscious he makes nature his companion
and means of getting back to safety. Farquhar manipulates nature in his mind to do what would
be most beneficial for him. After he falls in the river and emerges, he finds that “he was
perceptibly father down stream—nearer to safety” (177). He has made nature make it possible
for him to escape. The river has begun to carry him to safety. Later, “he was flung upon the
gravel at the foot of the left bank of the stream—the southern bank—and behind the projecting
point which concealed him from his enemies” (177). This is another show of Farquhar
manipulating nature for his benefit. The stream just happens to spit him out on its own, out of
range of the soldier’s guns, and conveniently on the southern side. Since all of this is occurring
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in Farquhar’s mind, it’s apparent that he thinks he can control nature but in the end, nature
controls him.
This final point, that nature controls him, is found a little obscurely in the story. Farquhar
dies because a Federal soldier tips him off about a way to supposedly thwart the Union army. He
says that he “observed that the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood
against the wooden pier at this end of the bridge. It is now dry and would burn like tow” (174).
The way this soldier suggests Farquhar deter the Union army is by manipulating nature, by
destroying it. Here is where the obscurity comes into play. Bierce uses the soldiers to represent
nature. In the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the scenery around the bridge as “a
gently acclivity of vertical tree trunks, loopholed for rifles, with a single embrasure through
which protruded the muzzle of a brass cannon commanding the bridge” (171-2). The picture
Bierce paints here is one where the soldiers and their weapons are intertwined with nature. They
are almost a part of it. When describing the soldiers, the narrator says that “not a man moved.
The company faced the bridge, staring stonily, motionless” (172). The soldiers are like huge,
unmovable, unconquerable stones guarding their capture. Lastly, Farquhar says that the “water,
touched to gold by the early sun, the brooding mists under the banks at some distance down the
stream, the fort, the soldiers, the piece of drift—all had distracted him” (172-3). Bierce couples
nature and soldiers together, making them one thing with one purpose. The soldiers represent
nature, conquering the fate of Peyton Farquhar. They tempt him with something he cannot resist:
the opportunity to manipulate nature, the opportunity to thwart its progression. In the end,
despite his efforts at controlling his fate and the nature around him, he dies, which is what was
intended all along.
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Although “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” can be read as realism during war times
or as psychological realism, the most prevalent themes point to naturalism. The narrator is
passive and doesn’t care about the fate of Peyton Farquhar. Bierce makes Farquhar part of
nature, making a timid fish swim as close as “beneath his eyes” (176). Finally, Bierce makes
nature the conqueror in the end. Farquhar cannot control what his fate is, no matter how hard he
tries, and that is the key element in a naturalist piece of literature.