An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge

Bierce uses both sound and motion as motifs to explore death and perception. Afruza Khanom notes that sound, specifically silence, is used in the story to create “an atmosphere of uncertainty that forces readers to read between the lines and bring out the unwritten narrative” (Khanom 45). The reader is not certain if what Farquhar is experiencing is real or imagined. For example, the sounds the reader hears are Farquhar’s thoughts. In between his thoughts is silence. No one on the bridge utters a word, including Farquhar. Khanom notes, “Bierce effectively uses the silence of the protagonist of his story to portray the suffering and psychological torment that is present even when words are not uttered, and shrieks of pain cannot be heard” (Khanom 47). The reader sees the torment in the moments when sound should be present. For instance, Farquhar is thinking of his wife and is distracted by the watch on his wrist ticking. Bierce writes, “The intervals of silence grew progressively longer; the delays became maddening. With their greater infrequency the sound increased in strength and sharpness. They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he would shriek” (7-8).