P.O.V. & Chronology in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

In his story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce draws the readers’ attention with a description of a man standing on the bridge, about to be executed, but does not state why. Through a third person omniscient point of view, he introduces the readers to a scene on the Owl Creek Bridge, putting the readers in a know-it-all position. Then he switches the mode of narrative to third person limited/subjective as he goes from part I to part II. This change in point of view focuses on a particular character, in this case Peyton Farquhar. Thus, it forces the readers to center their attention to only Farquhar. This transition in point of view from part I to part II also coincides with the change in chronological order of the story. Part II of the story is actually what happened first because it tells the readers why Farquhar got hanged. One of the reasons why Bierce places part II after part I could be because it gives the readers a sense of curiosity in the beginning and to draw their attention.

We could see another change in chronological order, but same point of view, as Bierce transitions from part II to part III of the story. In part III, Bierce goes back to describing the situation at the Owl Creek Bridge with focus on Farquhar only as oppose to the whole scene in part I. Throughout this part, the readers gets to follow along the sequence of events and thoughts that are occurring to Farquhar.

A major switch in chronological order is the last sentence of the story because it tells the readers that Farquhar was already dead at the bridge. Throughout the story, the readers engage in Farquhar’s escape as if it is actually happening to Farquhar. Thus, this change in chronology drastically changes the readers’ relationship to the event because the readers can finally realize that all those events that happened to Farquhar were only his last imagination before he dies on the Owl Creek Bridge. By not putting all the events in chronological order, Bierce forces the readers to follow along the events as if they were real and gives the story a surprise twist in the end.