Owl Creek Bridge Symbolism

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce tells the story of a man sentenced to death by hanging for his crimes. Throughout the story, we see how Farquhar copes with his situation by separating himself from reality. Bierce uses the symbolism of the environment around Farquhar, the composition of the story, and Farquhar’s character to portray his imminent fate and how Farquhar navigates through the realization he is going to die. Bierce purposefully tricks the reader into believing a false narrative to show that that is what Farquhar is doing to himself. (Linkin)
The use of symbolism in the story is subtle, but when you understand how it relates to
Farquhar’s situation, it shows how Farquhar is feeling and how he views his position at the moment without

Bierce describes the boards as being laid loose, and the bridge is “temporary.” We all know that life doesn’t last forever, but the execution taking place here proves just how short life can be. The bridge supports Farquhar and is the only thing preventing him from dying. We can make the connection that the bridge represents Farquhar’s life. The bridge stands above the river that Farquhar will be dropped into when he is hung, when he drops in it is him crossing the border of life and death.
The river represents death in this story, the language being used to describe it is harsh and is overall very negative. The only reason why Farquhar ends up in the river is that he was hung and dropped down, this is the main reason why the river represents death. In the story's first chapter, Farquhar describes the river as moving madly when staring at it head-on, but when he sees a piece of driftwood moving along the stream, he describes it as sluggish. The thought of death can be extremely off-putting for people, so when Farquhar is staring it right in the face his perception of it is thrown off because he is frightened by it. When Farquhar sees the piece