"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce - Short Story Summary, Analysis, Review

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Was there a theme or meaning you wanted us to talk about further? Let us know in the comments below! Today we are talking about "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. It is one of the most famous and widely read short stories. It deals with time, perception, reality, and the civil war.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
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[@ianhamilton2035]

Teacher read this to the class when I was in 5th grade, whoa.... Still imprinted on my brain! LoL ❤️

[@O.G.Rose.Michelle.and.Daniel]

This was a masterful review, and I appreciated the attention you drew to the reoccurrence of "water" in the story, as well as how the details of the story intensified to suggest a change into a dream state. The point also that he stops at the gate of the house, which suggests "a gate of heaven" (or perhaps a punishment of hell), was also insightful. Well done!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

You’ll make me blush

[@O.G.Rose.Michelle.and.Daniel]

@@TheCodeXCantina Tis my goal

[@Starscreamlive]

A short film adaptation was made of this back in the 60s and it aired as one of/if not the last episode of Rod Serling's original The Twilight Zone. I love the episode, but Serling hated it as he didn't produce it. The network forced Serling to air it as a part of the series. It's very well done and worth a watch if you have 20-30 minutes to spare.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I’ll have to check it out!

[@stanleylaham8932]

I was only 13 when I saw it. It was a French production and if I remember correctly, Serling praised it.

[@justinroden2148]

the sixth sense, haunter, final fantasy 8, shows like lost, etc! it's a brilliant trope because it's so relatable and that's why it works! How do any of us know if that fender bender/ brief hospital visit wasn't our own personal owl creek bridge? I had a ROUGH high school experience and I did unfortunately attempt to harm myself once and often wonder if i'm actually still alive... and that was 13 years ago! doing much better now though aside from that!

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

This story really was the dawn of a trope that's been used *a lot* over the years. 😂

[@TheCodeXCantina]

A trope I’m okay with!

[@TheNerdyNarrative]

It makes you wonder what you might hyperfocus on, given you find yourself in a similar situation. Think about it: how often do you hear your watch tick? You're usually going and doing, so it's not quiet enough to hear. Makes me think about the Tell Tale Heart

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Oh yeah. Have you seen the one with the famous violinist in the subway station and people just walk by?

[@toepi2988]

Sort of backbone inspiration for the horror movie "Jacob's Ladder"'s evil twist at the end. That movie inspired the video game "Silent Hill" years later. Time will tell what Bierce's story will continue to evolve into :).

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I hadn’t played Silent Hill but I’ve seen the movie. Cool to hear about the inspiration. Thanks for sharing

[@davidsheriff9274]

I guess this was the first story to use the now very cliche " it was all just a dream" plot device. You mentioned Jacob's Ladder,may I name a few more," Mulholland Drive" A great Korean movie called " A Bittersweet Life" and let's not forget " The Human Centipede 2". I'm sure there are many more. Oh, and for anyone out there that wanted to see one of the movies I mentioned but haven't gotten around to it yet, sorry.

[@attention5638]

There are some aspects here that sound like it could be a fun story to contrast with the ending of Camus' The Stranger....but then again, as pointed out, this sounds like it could be compared with half the stories I have read😅

[@TheCodeXCantina]

You’re going to get me to reread Camus some day

[@attention5638]

@@TheCodeXCantina If you do decide to pick anything of his up, either as a reread, or something new, let me know!

[@danieladecker7231]

Horrible story. Horrible movie. Used in elementary schools in the 60s to demoralize young children. Whenever a teacher felt the need to depress their class they would bring out the movie. It worked well to reinforce the evils of daydreaming, and certainly the evils of questioning authority. There may have been many hidden messages, but even the the south portrayed as noble, yet fighting for enslaving human beings versus the north being portrayed as brutal was not relevant. However, what mattered was, its ability to crush the spirits of young children. A favorite of incompetent and lazy teachers, who could not teach their way out of a paper bag.