March, 12, 2017
"He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children."
(chapter 1 of An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge)
This line makes me think that Peyton's great escape was all in his head, because at the end when he's running to embrace his wife and suddenly dies, his body was under the bridge at which he was hung. I think this because he was imagining all of this in his head when the captain nodded to the sergeant who then stepped aside which meant the platform under him was about to drop.
Another reason why I think this would be when chapter 3 starts. It begins with Peyton jumping down towards the river while dodging a cannonball and gun fire. Because of this he now supposedly has increased senses, strength, and sight. His sight was so good he could see one of the marksman's eyes through the scope of his gun and saw that he had gray eyes which apparently means he's a great shot, but somehow he misses Peyton's head by what seems like inches.
This whole story was pretty confusing for me but that was the conclusion that I came up with.
Great post, Nolan! So - if the escape was all in Farquhar's head, are there clues the author leaves us to tell us he is imagining everything? What do you think? :)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't even connected the dots on that! Good point.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that in the end, just before he was running toward his wife he noticed "How softly the turf had carpeted the untraveled avenue--he could no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet!"( Chapter 3)
I think that this could also be a hint that in real life the plank below his feet had fallen away, since he couldn't feel ground anymore. Also, He says the above quote just moments before the sharp pain siezes him and he is hanging dead from the bridge.
Such a happy ending...
Well if my conclusion is correct then I think it's mainly up to the reader to determine if it was really all in his head. Things that made me consider this theory were as I previously stated. When he closes his eyes and suddenly he finds within himself this great strength and free's himself from his binds and jumps into the water. Also when he feels all his senses become more alert, basically they turn into superhuman abilities. Another reason would be at the end when he was about to go embrace his wife and suddenly dies and his body is somehow back under the bridge.
ReplyDeleteThat is another good point, and another reason I think it was all in his head. It really does have such a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteOoh, good point about the plank, Annie! I wouldn't have thought of that one. But to both of you, what makes you think it's a happy ending? I would call it a good ending, because it's realistic, but not happy. This is another thing that the readers have to decide for themselves, but I'm wondering why you think the ending is happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Nolan, but I was being sarcastic when I said it was a happy ending. It's probably one of the best endings I've ever read though. Is that weird?
DeleteNo, it's not weird! I often like sad or semi-happy endings better than "everything looked terrible, but it all magically resolved and everyone unrealistically lived happily ever after!" endings. When a character dies or there's still a sad note in an otherwise happy ending, it makes a story more believable.
DeleteCompletely agree! I would've never thought you liked some-what sad endings. *wink *wink
DeleteAnnie and Nolan, those are both great points. To add to Nolan’s comment, I think that another point is that Peyton was ready to die and didn’t want to come up from his drowning. That’s another reason I think it really happened. He wouldn’t have put himself through the pain of nearly drowning, because it seemed he wanted to drown. I also don’t understand how he was about to hug his wife, and then he was dead under the bridge. He walked all night to get home, so it’s not like the bridge was even near his yard or anything.
ReplyDeleteBethany, I was startled by the ending. The book had a crescendo from the beginning to end, by starting with a tragic death scene and (almost!) ending with him hugging his wife. I wish that he would have lived, but I agree with Bethany that it would have been a bad ending if he had lived. If that had happened, he also might have been wanted, and have to live the rest of his life in hiding.
Selah, This book is very unique so I can see why your confused. The whole "walking home thing, and hugging his wife" was actually Peyton's imagination. So while he was imagining this whole "grand escape thing" he actually never left Owl Creek Bridge... I know it's a super odd story :) The reason his neck suddenly snapped, just when he was about to embrace his wife, is because in real life he had just hit the bottom of the rope on owl creek bridge and died subsequently.
ReplyDeleteIf you still don't get it, I understand. Or maybe you just have a completely different view of the story, and that's great too ;D
It's definitely a tricky story, and can be interpreted in multiple different ways, because nothing is really spelled out.
DeleteAmen Sister!
DeleteOh, okay. I got it. My opinion has switched, now I get the whole hallucination thing.
ReplyDeleteGlad it's a little more clear ;)
DeleteI do believe that your theory is correct, and that his escape plan was in his head!
ReplyDelete