An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge POV

The story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, begins with a third person narration. This narration immediately helps create a suspenseful situation and thereby draws interest to the setting. By revealing the grim circumstances as an opening, it creates a sort of morbid intrigue for the reader. This technique allows Bierce to set up all the necessary persons and props that are key to the storyline, without revealing the background information on the plot, or personal thoughts of any characters. The intrigue continues to build as Bierce describes the character about to be hanged as an innocent planter man, sparking curiosity as to how such a simple man came to be in such a fatal predicament.
Then in part two, he briefly introduces the man to be hanged, Peyton Farquhar, before switching to a slightly less limited viewpoint via dialogue. The dialogue section helps reveal the purpose of Farquhar’s rash action, while still maintaining a third person point of view. Bierce was very cautious by only revealing just enough information and fresh perspectives to keep the story interesting. Although it may seem frustrating to readers, this technique of switching around events is very common and usually logical in the literary world. For these reasons, it is not until partway through the first paragraph of part three that Bierce finally breaks through into the mind of Peyton Farquhar.
Once finally seeing the story through a first person point of view, the storyline becomes much more personal and realistic. Anyone in that position would be thinking similar, if not the exact same things, as Farquhar. Revisiting memories of loved ones is a given, as well as the will to survive through natural human instincts. This switch in viewpoints allows the reader to relate easier to Farquhar and intensifies the reader’s relationship to his heartbreaking story.