An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge

Symbolism is very important in the overall message in a short story. In the short story, An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, one of the first symbols to appear in this short story is a bridge, which is an indicator of travel or crossing over from one side to another. Travel can mean many things, in this instance, it signifies the death of Peyton Farquhar and his journey to death's door and to the afterlife. The second symbol that stood out to me much easier would be the water and the descriptions (life) that it is given to water throughout the story and how the description of the water changes. The water starts off being described as, "the swift waters twenty feet below" (82) which to me signifies the effectiveness of his situation. At this point in the story his captures have securely affixed a noose around, the main character's, Farquhar, neck; his predicament appears to be inevitable. Then an oberservation of a piece of timber floating very slowly in the water below is made. This occurs right about the time that the actual hanging is occuring. The water then changes to "the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet" (84), which appears at a point in the story where the climax is about to happen. Also mentioned in this passage is the description of the ticking of his watch which might also represent his own heart beating at the impending doom. Once Farquhar is hung, there is a reference once again to the water and looking up through the "blackness" which is seen in this passage, "he opened his eyes in the blackness and saw above him a gleam of light..." (86). This reference is comparable to what one would experience once one dies and sees the light of heaven possibly. There are subtle clues past this point in the story, that insinuate Farquhar is dead. References where the writer mentions the "swirls" Farquhar experiences. These experiences are what the body is actually doing while hanging under the bridge and not what the water is being pertrayed to do.