Owl Creek POV

In Ambrose Bierce's short story, "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge," Bierce use of different point of view leads the reader into an unexpected ending. The chronological order of the story is also unusual, as the short story in a time line will go Part II,I,III.

Part I is told through a third person narrative point of view, this only lets the reader know the circumstances of the story at this point. They only know that there is a gentlemen, with a family, that is about to be executed. Through this point of view and captivating cliff hanger, Bierce draws in the readers and forces them to continue reading to know who is this innocent man and what did or did not do to be executed.

In part II the story is switched to a limited third person view. However, Bierce also use dialogue to tell his story. This thus lets the reader know the tone of the situation and how the characters are feeling. The readers now know who the man was, and what his profession is. The family he has, and most important why he is being hanged. It turns out that Peyton Farquhar is a planter, a gentlemen, and a supporter of the opposite side of an opposing army. He wanted to burn down the bridge to support the troops. Through this point of view and information, the readers may not feel as sympathic toward Peyton Farquhar, because we now know that he has an intent to do harm.

Part III is told through the eyes of Peyton Farquhar. Through this point of view, Bierce recreates the sympathetic feelings within the readers from part I. Where we know that he is a gentlemen, who has a family to raise, and is being executed despite of that. However, though its told through Peyton Farquhar point of view, it is not true. Because in the end its is revealed that he is only imagining this. The parts where he escape, swim, walked to his house, and was about to kiss his wife and live with his family, all false hope. In reality, Peyton Farquhar was already dead, and this was his last thought. Bierce use of Peyton Farquhar POV created false hope for the readers and made the ending a bigger impact.

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