Eternal Questions

By Parker Gallagher, Top Varsity Student

West Valley High School

Fairbanks

Score 930

The reason that "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" is still a relevant piece of literature is that it explores many of the topics that people will always have questions about.  The ever prevalent question of what happens when a person dies, what do they see in the final moments before their death? Does one come to terms with why one is about to die when faced with death, or is it a fight; kicking and screaming all the way to the end?  While these timeless questions are explored in the piece, they are by no means answered, it is just a hypothetical situation and does not even attempt to answer the questions that it explores, it merely opens the readers eyes and allows the reader to begin to imagine what it would be like.

The major theme of the story is definetly escape, it is human nature to try to escape pain, this is most certainly an obvious action as the apparent daydream is of the main character's escape from the hangmans' noose.  There is an expression, "My life flashed before my eyes." would this not be a variant on that idea?  The idea that in the moment before death, one sees their life as it was, with everything in perspective, their self-delusions stripped away and their every action, both good and bad, laid bare.

There is also the possibility that the entire work is satirical, pointing out the folly of such beliefs.  Everything living dies eventually, this is made brutally clear in the conclusion of the writing.  He, the main character that is, snaps out of his self-delusion and is savagely brought back to reality by the noose.  This is one of a multitude of interpretations that can be applied to this piece of writing, and just like all of the others has weight and must be considered.

These are the questions that are addressed in "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" and they, for all practical purposes, will never be truly answered, for the only ones who know the reality of it are not at liberty to divulge.  The ideas explored in "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" will always be relevant and of interest, that is why this work was, is, and will continue to be, read and reread by each generation.  These questions are eternal.