"The Yanks are repairing the railroads," said the man, "and are getting ready for another advance. They have reached the Owl Creek bridge, put it in order and built a stockade on the north bank. The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels or trains will be summarily hanged. I saw the order."
"How far is it to the Owl Creek bridge?" Farquhar asked.
"About thirty miles."
"Is there no force on this side the creek?"
"Only a picket post half a mile out, on the railroad, and a single sentinel at this end of the bridge."
"Suppose a man--a civilian and student of hanging--should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel," said Farquhar, smiling, "what could he accomplish?"
The soldier reflected. "I was there a month ago," he replied. "I observed that the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood against the wooden pier at this end of the bridge. It is now dry and would burn like tow."
The lady had now brought the water, which the soldier drank. He thanked her ceremoniously, bowed to her husband and rode away. An hour later, after nightfall, he repassed the plantation, going northward in the direction from which he had come. He was a Federal scout." (Chapter II)
I chose this passage because I thought it would be one viable for discussion. It bears questions that could be answered, such as why did the scout lure Farquhar into the trap to be hung? What is the "tow" that the scout talks about when describing Owl Creek Bridge? I also like this passage because it tells us a little about the historical war strategies of the North and the South. The significance of the passage is that it explains why Peyton Farquhar was hanged. Peyton was hanged by the union soldiers because the scout had lured him into a trap. Any other thoughts?
Great post, Jonathan! Hmmmm..... So Farquhar was set up?
ReplyDeleteI think that the Union for sure lured Peyton into their trap. They must have known Peyton felt that "No service was too humble for him to perform in the aid of the South, no adventure to perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war." The Union had to have known all of this and they played on it to "benefit" their cause.
ReplyDeleteGood observation!
DeleteAt first when I read it, I didn't even realize he was being lured into a trap, but he definitely was! And I agree, they had to have known something more about Peyton than what is explained. What do you think their motive was against him personally? Also, good point on the author being satirical.
DeleteIn regard to the Union's motive against Peyton, I don't know, and I think that the author may have meant to keep it that way. Although, at the beginning of chapter II, we learn that Peyton was a politician. Maybe that had something to do with it, but maybe not.
DeleteOk, yeah I think some things are just meant to be mysterious and left up to the reader to decide. Him being a politician definitely could have had something to do with it. Also, I was reading other people's blogs and it made me realize that maybe he wasn't originally intending on tricking Peyton when they mentioned that the scout could've been scouting out the area as a spy, but took the chance to get rid of a devoted Confederate since he had the chance.
DeleteYou make a very good point, Hannah. To add a little to what you just said, this passage could possibly an attempt of humor and satire towards the famous pride of the southerners during the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteIt could be. In fact that makes a lot of sense considering who the author is. American Literature.com states that "Known for his satirical wit and sardonic view of human nature, Ambrose Bierce earned the nickname "Bitter Bierce." Having that attitude and also having served in the Union army I think you're correct in your observations.
DeleteYou made some very good observations. I think the scout tried to luer Farquhar to be hung because he was a big supporter of what the confederates were all about.
ReplyDelete