From Life to Hereafter

In the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Ambrose Bierce uses symbols to depict Peyton Farquhar’s transition from life to death. The symbols he uses in this story simulate the last few moments in Peyton’s life. From the moment that a grey-clad soldier approaches Peyton, the bridge becomes his death. The only escape from his ultimate demise flows under his feet and is only accessible in his sub consciousness. When the inevitable has occurred and Peyton’s life on earth comes to an end, he sees, as many people having escaped death claim, a bright blinding white light as his soul flees his lifeless carcass and retreats to the afterworld.
Many times in stories, the very nature of a bridge depicts a symbolic use. A bridge is a structure that connects two separate pieces of land; however, it can also depict their distinctiveness Bierce, in this story, uses the bridge not as a connection from one side to the other, nut uses it to symbolize a passage from the world of the...