In An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, the main character, Peyton Farquhar, is sentenced to death by hanging. The death penalty law has been around as early as the sixteenth century. Today, the death penalty is deemed unnecessarily cruel and unethical around the world. Most states have abolished the law, while others have kept it intact for only certain crimes. Past methods of execution, such as hanging, have been abandoned and switched out to death by lethal injection or electric chair for states that still have this law enacted.
The death penalty has been active in the south for many decades. One trait that has remained with the south’s capital punishment is also “its resistance to reform”1 (Powell). The South is known for being very patriotic. They attempt to preserve any traditions and values kept by those that came before them. There are many examples in history, where the South is resistant to any form of change. Capital punishment was used frequently in the South.
The execution of Peyton Farquhar took place in Southern America during the Civil War. The story starts off with Farquhar waiting to be hung. He’s already set up for execution with a wooden slab underneath his feet and tons of soldiers around him. Upon the initial reading of the first act, Farquhar seems like an innocent man being hanged for no apparent reason. Act II introduces Farquhar’s background and tells us who he really is – a plantation and slave owner. He was caught by a union soldier trying to disrupt use of the owl creek bridge by trying to burn it down. His slow descent into madness before his final minutes is described vividly in the story.
During the Civil War era, the death penalty was still enacted, allowing for executions such as this one to take place. Any crimes committed during wartime led to imprisonment for pending execution. Farquhar felt many different emotions and experienced heightened senses right before his death. The soldiers remained silent during the execution as a sign of respect. The killing of Farquar, although gruesome, is representative of the death of south traditions and the revenge of persons he has wronged. Towards the end of the story, Farquar experiences hallucinations that take place in a dark and mysterious setting. He sees “black bodies”2 that takes the shape of trees and “whispers in an unknown tongue”. The black bodies Farquar sees are his slaves that he has caused harm to, mocking him in their language. This is a mental punishment for Farquar before he is executed in the real world.
Due to discovering Farquar’s past, there is no longer any sympathy or remorse felt for this character. The underlying issue of this execution is no longer whether Farquar deserves to be hung, but rather is it moral to execute him, especially in this fashion? Does Peyton Farquar deserve to live after his crime? The right to live is a basic human right. The death penalty violates this right and sentences the criminal to death. The death penalty is used here in two ways: to deter criminals from committing a crime and as a form of retribution. The main reason Farquar was sentenced to the death penalty was because he is “paying for a crime” (Marchesi)3. Death Penalty in Wartime by Antonio Marchesi discusses how retribution via the death penalty during wartime is largely influenced by emotional responses as opposed to reasonable ones. Farquar is responsible for interfering with the bridge and so he landed himself in this situation. He will be used as an example for any future criminals looking to commit similar crimes.
In conclusion, Farquar’s death in Bierce’s short story raises additional questions about capital punishment in the South and how the death penalty has changed since the Civil War. Farquar’s death also opens thoughts of whether the death penalty is considered a moral punishment for wartime crimes and the ways it impacts society. The death penalty has been abolished in some states, while others still uphold it for capital crimes.
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1 “And two characteristics of the death penalty in the South have remained constant until recently: its resistance to reform and its overwhelming application and enforcement toward blacks.” (Chapter 9: The Death Penalty in the South, Powell, Michael)
Bakken, Gordon Morris. Invitation to an Execution: A History of the Death Penalty In the United States, University of New Mexico Press, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ccny-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1118988.
2 “The black bodies of the trees formed a straight wall on both sides, terminating on the horizon in a point, like a diagram in a lesson in perspective.” (Act III, Bierce)
3 “The idea of “paying for a crime” is sometimes closely combined with an implicit or explicit sense
of revenge.” (Marchesi)
Works Cited
Bakken, Gordon Morris. Invitation to an Execution: A History of the Death Penalty In the United States, University of New Mexico Press, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ccny-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1118988.
Marchesi, Antonio. The Death Penalty in Wartime: Arguments for Abolition. United States, Amnesty International, 1994
Bierce, Ambrose. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Killer Stories: Killing in Short Fiction. Ed. G.D. Peters. Boston: Pearson, 2015.
