An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge uses elements of nature and wilderness throughout the story to express the journey and realizations of the protagonist on his way to death. The one thing in the story that isn't natural-the bridge- is the place where he meets the soldiers and is ultimately hung. As he stands on the plank of wood, he looks down at the water. "He looked down at his "unsteadfast footing," then let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet. A piece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and his eyes followed it down the current. How slowly it appeared to move. . ." The "unsteadfast footing" seems to signify his situation and frame of mind, the water swirling sees to signify his fear. As he sees the driftwood flowing slowly down the river, we gain a sense of slowly moving time as he awaits his hanging.

His interaction with nature or wilderness is amplified after he had "fallen into the stream." He swam for his life and the whole time, he saw nature in a vivid and , at times, abstract way. "He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck. he looked at the forest and on the bank of the stream, saw the individual trees, the leaves and the veining of each leaf-saw the very insects upon them. . . " He saw down the river, which seems to represent his life in some way, and reached the sandy bank. "It looked like diamonds, rubies, emerald; he could think of nothing beautiful which it did not resemble. The trees upon the bank were like giant garden plants." He later travels a road "as wide as a city" bordered by nothing civil. Overhead he saw "great garden stars" as he traveled to his home as fast as possible.

His wilderness is a journey and an essence of the precious life he knew he would lose. I think the representation of wilderness does line up with my definition of wilderness because it is a journey that he takes during his last moments of life. In other ways, it doesn't line up with my definition since my most basic definition is simply an untainted natural place.


I included the video we watched in class for anyone who may not have seen it before.