kko,
Ambrose Beirce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" takes place in northern Alabama during the Civil War. Union forces are in control. In Section II, we infer that Farquhar, almost the only character, was lured or even entrapped into an attempt to blow up Owl Creek Bridge. He was then caught, tried, and sentenced to death by hanging from the bridge which he had tried to destroy.
This story is Bierce’s subject in contrasting the real passage of time with our human perception of time. It is centered in the consciousness of the central character, Farquhar. As the narrator moves into Farquhar’s mind the reader is led to believe, at least temporarily, in the details of the escape.
The imagined time of Farquhar’s escape is an entire day, from earliest daylight to night. That his “escape” is so lengthy permits an enormous amount of imaginary action to take place within no more than a few seconds of his last time on earth.
First we learn of the slowing of his watch, followed by his dream or belief that he is actually escaping. (This same perception persists once he is actually being hanged.) In paragraph 37, the narration becomes abruptly and cruelly dramatic. There is no more looking into Farquhar’s mind, because he is dead.
Hasn't this discrepancy of time happened to everyone? Imagining what a different life would be like, all in the matter of seconds?
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