An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
[3] Peyton Farquhar, a civilian who is also a wealthy planter and slave owner, is being prepared for execution by hanging from an Alabama railroad bridge during the American Civil War.Farquhar walks all day through a seemingly endless forest and that night he begins to hallucinate, seeing strange constellations and hearing whispered voices in an unknown language."An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was first published in the July 13, 1890, issue of The San Francisco Examiner and collected in the compilation Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891).[2] Author Kurt Vonnegut wrote in 2005: "I consider anybody a twerp who hasn't read the greatest American short story, which is '[An] Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,' by Ambrose Bierce.[5] Bierce's story highlighted the idea of subjective time passing at the moment of death and popularized the fictional device of false narrative continuation, which has been in wide circulation ever since then.Notable examples of this technique from the early-to-mid 20th century include H. G. Wells's "The Door in the Wall" (1906) and "The Beautiful Suit" (1909), Vladimir Nabokov's "Details of a Sunset" (1924) and "The Aurelian" (1930), Jorge Luis Borges's "The Secret Miracle" (1944) and "The South" (1949), William Golding's Pincher Martin (1956), Paul Auster's Lulu on the Bridge (1998), Claude Chabrol's Alice or The Last Escapade (1977), Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985) as well as Julio Cortázar's "The Island at Midday", and Leo Perutz's "From Nine to Nine".Alexander Lernet-Holenia's novella Der Baron Bagge (1936) shares many similarities with Bierce's story, including the setting in the midst of a war and the bridge as a symbol for the moment of passage from life to death.[16] In the 2005 film Stay (with Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling; directed by Marc Forster; written by David Benioff) the entire story takes place in a character's mind after a tragic accident.Similar to Bierce's story, in the Boardwalk Empire episode "Farewell Daddy Blues" (2013), Richard Harrow hallucinates a long journey home to his family before his death is revealed.In one scene, one of the main characters briefly tells his fellow soldiers about An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, implying that they may be going through a similar situation.The song Mendokusai on Tellison's 2015 album Hope Fading Nightly features the refrain "We are all broken necked, swinging from the timbers of Owl Creek Bridge."
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (film)An Incident at Owl CreekShort storyAmbrose BierceThe San Francisco ExaminerTales of Soldiers and CiviliansCivil Warstream of consciousnesshangingAlabamaAmerican Civil WarinfantrymenConfederateKurt VonnegutSophisticated LadyDuke EllingtonFranklin stoveTang dynasty taleThe Governor of NankeLi GongzuoDon Juan ManuelTales of Count LucanorCharles DickensThe Snows of KilimanjaroErnest HemingwayPincher MartinWilliam GoldingH. G. WellsThe Beautiful SuitVladimir NabokovDetails of a SunsetThe AurelianJorge Luis BorgesThe Secret MiracleThe SouthPaul AusterLulu on the BridgeClaude ChabrolTerry GilliamBrazilJulio CortázarLeo PerutzFrom Nine to NineAlexander Lernet-HoleniaDer Baron BaggeDavid LynchMöbius stripJacob's LadderBruce Joel RubinAdrian LyneRobert EnricoAn Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeTobias WolffJohn ShirleyEwan McGregorNaomi WattsRyan GoslingMarc ForsterDavid BenioffBoardwalk EmpireRichard HarrowTeen WolfJeff DavisSeason 3Black MirrorPlaytestScrubsGhosts of WarBressa Creeting Cake'sDeceasedSupernatural AddictionOwl CityDoobie BrothersPatrick SimmonsTellison'sHope Fading NightlyCharles VidorRonald HowardAlfred Hitchcock Presentsanthology seriesMarcel Ichac1962 Cannes Film FestivalAcademy Award for Live Action Short FilmThe Twilight ZoneBAFTA CymruAmerican Dad!BabybirdJohnny DeppGrouploveChristopher AbbottJon Bon JoviWilliam N. RobsonEscapeHarry BartellSuspenseVictor JoryJoseph CottenVincent PriceCBS Radio Mystery TheaterWinifred PhillipsTales by American MastersWinnie WaldronThe Twilight Zone Radio DramasChristian StolteStacy KeachThea MusgraveLondon SinfoniettaEd BishopGayle HunnicuttDavid HealyNMC RecordsNew York CityLorin Morgan-RichardsA Man Without a CountryA Universal History of InfamyThe Seattle TimesThe New York TimesWikisourceInternet ArchiveProject GutenbergLibriVoxThe Devil's DictionaryA Vision of DoomA Psychological ShipwreckKilled at ResacaAn Inhabitant of Carcosa