An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Essay by lyndon • November 16, 2013 • Essay • 721 Words (3 Pages) • 1,511 Views
During the beginning of the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", a man by the name of Peyton Farquhar is positioned at the top of a railroad bridge waiting to be hanged. A pair of soldiers from the Northern military is surrounding him, awaiting the killing. As he is sent over the edge, the rope splits causing Farquhar to fall into the water. In section two the reader learns the Farquhar is a well accomplished planter. One afternoon in the past, Farquhar and his wife were seated on the edging of their land when a soldier came up to them, in search of a drink of water. While his spouse had gone back to get the water the solider had asked for, Farquhar inquires for information of the front and was notified that Northern alliances had refurbished the railroads in anticipation of launching another advance, even though they had by reached the Owl Creek Bridge. Any civilian caught hindering with the North's hard work in the vicinity would be hanged. Section three brings us back to the present where the rope has torn and Farquhar is in the water. One of the men fires two shots at him, but misses. Farquhar hearing the shots dives down into the water to avoid being killed. Farquhar swims up for oxygen as the soldiers fire again from the bridge. After seeing a cannonball land two yards from him, Farquhar judges they will next shoot grapeshot from the cannon, in place of a single ball, and he will have to foresee the firing. Suddenly he is spun into a whirl, ejecting him from the river onto a bank out of reach of his executioners. He journeys into the forest, setting his trail by the sun and traveling all day. The thoughts of his relatives make him go on. As he strolls toward his house, his wife is awaiting him. He goes to hug her, but feels a sharp blow on his neck and sees a white light. Afterwards stillness and darkness surround him. Farquhar is dead; his body is now dangling from the side of the Owl Creek Bridge.
Louise Mallard has a heart problem, so she must be notified cautiously about her husbands death. Her sister, Josephine, tells her the tragic news. Louis's husband, Brentley has been in an accident and was killed. Louise begins crying when Josephine hears news of Brantley's death and goes upstairs to be alone in her room. Louise sits down and looks out an open window. She sees trees, smells rain that will come soon, and hears a supplier roaring out what he is selling. She listens to somebody singing in addition to the sounds of sparrows, and there are white clouds in the sky. She is young, with lines around her eyes. Still weeping, she looks into the distance. She feels uneasy and tries to restrain her emotions within her, but can't. She begins repeating the word "free" to herself over and over again. Louise knows she will weep again when she sees Brentley's corpse. His hands were caring, and he always looked at her affectionately. However she then conceives of the years to
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