BLOG 7: Ambrose Bierce

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce seems to be bordering between Romanticism and Realism. It has a realistic ending, but it also fantastical because reality is blurred in the third section. There are a few thematic ideas to this story, but one conspicuous example deals with death. It seems to be saying that death is inevitable. The main character, Peyton Farquhar, is faced with being hanged by Union soldiers in the first part of the story, and, after he seems to escape and be safe at home, it all turns out to be some sort of dream and he dies on the noose. This leads to what Bierce’s general philosophy could be, at least in this story. It appears to be a question of what is really true and what reality is. Bierce’s biographer, Carey McWilliams, said that he “did not trust people… nor… governments, businesses, churches… easy answers or sentimentality” (Bierce 387). This must have led him to distrust reality also.

When it comes to what truth is, Emerson’s idea appears contrary to Bierce’s. Emerson says things like “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” to show that he thinks everyone knows what the truth is (Self Reliance). Bierce thinks that nobody knows, or at least he does not know, what is true. Emerson also believed in intuition for the truth. He said that “a dream may let us deeper into the secret of nature than a hundred concerted experiments” (Nature). He goes against sciences of different sorts in “Nature” because he believes they can almost push people away from other things including the truth. Bierce shows an attraction to nature in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, but Emerson is enthralled by it. Bierce beautifies nature when his character’s senses are heightened and pays close attention to certain things, but Emerson wrote a whole essay with eight different parts capturing almost all elements of nature and putting in his opinions.

Thoreau has some similar views as Bierce. Thoreau does not really come out and say he does not trust the government in “Civil Disobedience”, although he does somewhat come out against it, but Bierce did not trust hardly anything (Thoreau). While there is not much to get from “An Occurrence at Owl Creek” about government, there too is not much from what Thoreau talks about that is in this story. Thoreau also had a profound feeling toward nature like Emerson. Grant says that Thoreau’s relation with nature was that it was an artistic model, a source of sustenance, and a moral teacher (Grant).

Bierce, Ambrose. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 387-396. Print.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Nature." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self-Reliance." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Grant, P. B. "Nature in Walden." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=ETL1134&SingleRecord=True (accessed January30, 2012)

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.