Point of View in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

The short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce draws the reader through an an interesting chain of events. The story begins in a 3rd person objective point of view. Through this point of view, Bierce is able to set up the narrative for the reader. The reader is able to get a sense of the characters, setting and time period of the action. All these elements create a sense of anxiety and anguish in the reader. We don’t know why, but we can’t imagine the reasons for this man to be hanged. Bierce skillfully transitions the point of view at the end of the fourth paragraph to 3rd person limited. This point of view limits the story to just one person. The reader gets the mans last thoughts longing to see his family and hope to escape into the river below.

In part 2, the story transitions into a flashback and the reader gets a name and the background of the main character. The point of view is still in 3rd person limited because it still focuses on one person of the story. This helps draw the reader father into the story and helps the reader relate to the main character. The reader is able to imagine this mans family and understand how he ends up at Owl Creek Bridge.

In part 3, the reader travels back to the present and find our main character falling off the bridge into the river. A series of events unfold still keeping the point of view fixed on one person and keeping the reader absorbed in the story. When we get to the last sentence of the story, the point of view switches back to 3rd person objective and we are left in shock that the main character is dead. We are led to believe that the character is going to survive, but Bierce messes with the reader. Bierce keeps the reader fixed on the events unfolding in the story, but doesn’t allow the reader to realize that he is changing the story from reality to imagination. Through the point of view techniques, Bierce is able to create a story where we can relate to the main character, but still keep our interest in this devastating story.