An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge story
1862, during the Civil War. Recently-widowed Confederate Peyton Farquhar decides to blow up a bridge that the Yankees plan to use to cross, but is caught. Peyton is hanged, but the rope breaks and he seemingly escapes. With the help of slave Josh, Peyton travels past various Union soldiers safely and returns home to his wife Melissa. Right before the two can embrace, however, Peyton collapses with a sharp pain to his neck. Peyton is actually dead; he never escaped from the hanging. The doomed man imagined the whole escape. Directed by: Robert Stevenson. Story by: Ambrose Bierce, Harold Swanton.
13 total · 2 choice · 4 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| facing one's own execution | choice | Peyton was about to be hanged for interfering with railway bridges and in fact, the whole story was a dream taking places moments before his death. |
| what if I had a near-death experience | choice | What seemed to be the condemned man Peyton escaping the noose and fleeing to find his wife turned out to have been his imaginings at the moment of his death. |
| American Civil War | major | The story is set in the South during this war. |
| facing organized pursuit | major | In his dream, Peyton was pursued by Union soldiers after they botched his hanging. |
| military related work | major | The story concerned the goings on in a military outfit during the American Civil War. |
| the desire to survive | major | Peyton was determined to escape the from Union soldiers were going to execute him all in an effort to make it back to see his beloved wife, Melissa. |
| coping with the death of a spouse | minor | Peyton grieved for his recently departed wife, Melissa. |
| espionage | minor | In his closing monologue, Alfred Hitchcock made a gag about the art of espionage during the American Civil War days. |
| husband and wife | minor | In his dream, Peyton encountered his recently departed wife, Melissa. |
| master and slave | minor | Peyton was consoled by his house slave, Hattie. In his dream, Peyton was guided home by his slave Josh. |