An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Book Report/Review Example

A Federal Scout had come to Farquhar’s house for a drink of water and he informed him that anyone who was found causing problems would be caught and hanged. When Farquhar inquires if there was any force on the other side of the creek, the soldier answers him saying, - “Only a picket post half a mile out, on the railroad and a single sentinel at this end of the bridge.”“All is fair in love and war” is a very famous saying and unfortunately Farquhar finds himself with a noose around his neck, at the gallows, surrounded by officers with their rifles in hand.

Under the plank on which he stood, he could see the water rushing wildly in a frenzy. As the noose was put around his neck, he had a sense of foreboding as his mind raced back to his loving family at home. He felt a sense of helplessness as the noose tightened about his neck and his body dropped into the racing water.As Peyton plummeted to the depths with pulsating speed, he felt he was almost dead. He oscillated like a pendulum between life and death, as he struggled for breath. The light which had grown dimmer as he went down, now seemed brighter as he found himself rising towards the surface and thought, -"To be hanged and drowned, is not so bad; but I do not wish to be shot.

No; I will not be shot; that is not fair." What seemed like superhuman strength he managed to relieve himself of the ropes that bound him. Undoing the noose around his neck, he gasped for breath.He was ecstatic to be alive. He reveled in the beauty of his surroundings – the trees the stream, the insects, the dewdrops on the glass, and the prismatic colors that floated all around him. Suddenly, all at once, he found bullets whizzing past and hitting the water and saw the sentinels aiming their rifles straight at him from across the bridge.

He heard the lieutenant’s dreaded, cruel and aspirated chant ordering, -     "Company! Attention! Shoulder arms! Ready! Aim!. Fire!" he was being hunted down like an animal. He struggled to keep afloat but was met with an appalling splash triggered by a cannon, just about 2yds. away from him.All of a sudden, he found himself caught up in a vortex and whirled around with the deafening velocity and was flung on the southern bank. Tears of joy rushed through him as he reveled in the thought of being alive.

To him, the sand looked like diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, and the sounds from the branches of the trees seemed like music floating from Aeolian harps.The thought of getting back to his loving family gave him more energy and he began to race through the forest in the quest of meeting them soon. Though tired and footsore, he continued his painful journey along the path that seemed all too familiar. He felt his delirium had ended when he stood in front of his own home. Everything was the same way, as he had left it.

He sees his beautiful wife, a figure of matchless beauty and grace come down the steps to meet him. But alas, as he extends his arms to embrace her, he experiences an excruciating blow behind his neck and in one blinding moment the sound of a cannon shocks him with a blazing light, then all that remains is silence and darkness!