“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a very interesting story by Ambrose Bierce. Ambrose Bierce faught in the American Civil War which gave him some background information for this short story (Bierce 387). Bierce was an interesting man who had some character traits that we have seen in authors before. Bierce was "idealistic, cynical, morose, stubborn" and known as "Bitter Bierce" (Bierce 387). He had a very interesting life story. After not completing high school, Bierce worked as a printer's apprentice then enlisted to fight in the Civil War (Bierce 387). After being shot in the head, Bierce worked in the humor section of several newspapers. Later he traveled to England where he wrote more before returning to America. My favorite part about Ambrose Bierce's life is that he disappeared in Mexico and no one knows what happened to him (Bierce 387). To this day no one knows how he died, when he died, or what he did in Mexico.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a great Civil War thinking story. As the story starts off with an omnipoent narrator who is observing a hanging on a bridge, the reader is left to wonder what exactly the "civilian" did to result in a hanging (Bierce 390). Then the person who was going to be hanged drifts off in thought about his wife and children before presumably being hanged when the sergeant "stepped aside" (Bierce 390). The next part is narratorated by Peter Farquhar, who the reader later learns is the man being hanged (Bierce 390). At the end of the second part Farquhar is given information by a disguised enemy soldier who, using reverse psychology, tells Farquhar about a bridge that the enemy soliders could use to invade Owl Creek bridge (Bierce 392). In a twist in the plot the bridge was really a necessity to the Farquhar's side and by burning the bridge, he unknowingly helped the enemy (Bierce 392). That is why he was being hung. The next part of the story was very interesting as Farquhar seems to evade death multiple times by having awesome neck muscles that can withstand being hung by a rope, a great lung capacity to escape drowning, and ninja like skills that allows him to dodge bullets and even cannons (Bierce 395-396)! Then the reader learns that he really died by the rope and in a couple of ticks of a watch, Farquhar dreampt up the whole scenario (Bruccoli)! The concept of having an entire scenario and story thought up in a couple of seconds is something masterfully done by Bierce (Bruccoli). Very few people have been able to accomplish that to the successful degree that Ambrose Bierce did.

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 387-396. Print.

Bruccoli, Matthew J., and Judith S. Baugman. "Peyton Farquhar." Student's Encyclopedia of American Literary Characters. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 15 Feb. 12.

“Letter to his Family”

Robert E. Lee was the leader of the Confederate Army during the Civil War after serving in the United States Army for thirty-six years (Lee 382). He only served as general for the Confederate States of America because his home state of Virginia decided to succeed from the Union and General Lee had very strong loyalty for his state (Lee 382). That loyalty characteristic is a great thing to have, and General Lee instilled that in his Confederate troops (Divine). The possible division of the Union greatly upset General Lee and he was "willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation" (Lee 385). Before any of the states succeeded, Robert E. Lee made clear that he would stay true with Virginia and "return to my native state and share the miseries of my people" (Lee 385). Even though General Robert E. Lee served with the Confederates, and not the Union, he did so for a good reason. He was not a supporter of slavery, but had an ambivalent view about slavery (Divine).

Henry David Thoreau was a firm believer in antislavery and that was the one political issue that he was vocal about (Harding). He would have disliked General Robert E. Lee as he was fighting for the "wrong side" and not for the freedom of the slaves (Harding). Ralph Waldo Emerson would have appreciated General Lee for sticking to his views and staying with Virginia throughout the war until the surrender at Appomattox which ended the Civil War (Divine). Throughout Abraham Lincoln's election and the succession threats, and the entire Civil War, General Robert E. Lee stuck with his guns and supported his home state of Virginia and defended it and the Confederacy to make sure his home state was preserved (Lee 385). General Lee had great characteristics and honor as he battled his fellow countrymen during the Civil War. Emerson and Thoreau would have both respected that loyalty aspect of General Robert E. Lee.


Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 13 Feb. 2012.

Hawthorne, Julian. "Emerson as an American." In The Genius and Character of Emerson. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1885. Quoted as "Emerson as an American." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 13 Feb. 2012.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to his Family". Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 382-385. Print.

“And Ain‘t I a Woman?”

Sojourner Truth spoke at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 after several male ministers spoke on how women were too "inferior" and "weak" to vote (Truth 369). Sojourner Truth is a prime example of a strong and powerful woman. After escaping from slavery, she preached God's message around the northeast, eventually preaching antislavery and women's rights as well (Truth 369). She made the most of her life and was an empowered woman. In her speech at the Ohio Convention, Sojourner Truth made a point to the "little man in black", the ministers who had spoken earlier, about what women can or can not do (Truth 370). Sojourner Truth said that she could "work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well!" and then mentioned that she borne thirteen children (Truth 370). If that shows "weak" and "inferior" characteristics, then I do not know what brave and strong people look like. Truth's speech was very effective as she drew on her life experiences to prove the minster men wrong and show them how women are strong and capable. To make sure that the ministers got her point, Sojourner threw in, "Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him" (Truth 370). The ministers got her point.

Ralph Waldo Emerson also spoke at a women's rights convention. He spoke at the Boston Women's Rights Convention in 1855 (Wayne). His wife, his aunt, and fellow Transcendentalist Margaret Fuller urged him to speak (Wayne). He had previously not voiced an opinion for or against women's rights (Wayne). After giving a speech where Emerson hoped "the best women would not seek power through such corrupt avenues as politics and business" and did not clearly say anything for or against women suffrage (Wayne). Emerson never made a public statement on women's rights again. Regardless, his speech was still quoted by women's rights periodicals for the rest of the century (Wayne). Thoreau never gave an opinion on women's rights. The only political thing that he gave voice to was for the abolitionists and antislavery.


Truth, Sojourner. "And Ain‘t I a Woman?." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 368-370. Print.

Wayne, Tiffany K. "'Address at the Woman's Rights Convention'." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 12 Feb. 2012.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Go Down, Moses", and "Keep Your Hands on the Plow"

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Go Down, Moses", and "Keep Your Hands on the Plow" are all sorrow songs sung by African American slaves from the Antebellum South ("Three Spirituals" 344). To help deal with the violence, hardship, and lifestyle of slavery in the South, black slaves would sing versions of the aforementioned songs to create and maintain their own culture and to get them through the workday ("Three Spirituals" 344). As the songs were not written down, but orally passed from cotton plantation to sugar plantations and yeomen farms, many different versions exist, Congress believes over "six thousand" to be in existence ("Three Spirituals" 344). The theme of all three songs are about overcoming slavery, through stories in the Bible about freedom or about hope for a better day.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a spiritual about the promise of freedom coming soon ("Swing Low" 346). Literally the " sweet chariot" is going to "carry" the slaves "home", while figuratively "home" is being free and living as an independent person with equal rights and President Lincoln is going to carry the slaves home through the Emancipation Proclamation and Equality Acts ("Swing Low" 346). Thoreau would have been in agreement with the message of the song, but Emerson would have disliked it because he did not think that "pieces of paper" made anyone free (Hawthorne).

"Go Down, Moses" is a surrow song regarding the slave's hope for freedom ("Go Down" 347). By referencing Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and those people breaking the bonds of slavery, the American Antebellum slaves gain hope from the idea that becoming free can happen ("Go Down" 347). Emerson would have liked this spiritual much better as the event described was factual and the Hebrew slaves physically got their freedom by leaving Egypt. Some slaves took that song to heart by traveling the Underground Railroad and gaining freedom by escaping from their masters.

"Keep Your Hand on the Plow" is a religous song giving the slaves hope through the belief that God was with them ("Keep" 348). Thoreau was a religious man who believed that the individual was self-sufficent, but a little help from God was necessary in retaining a balanced life (Harding). The line "hold on" is repeated throughout the song and as words are power, the slaves gained hope by repeating the mantra that freedom will come someday so just "hold on".

"Go Down, Moses." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 347. Print.

Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 10 Feb. 2012.

Hawthorne, Julian. "Emerson as an American." In The Genius and Character of Emerson. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1885. Quoted as "Emerson as an American." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 10 Feb. 2012.

"Keep Your Hands on the Plow." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 348. Print.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 6. Print.

"Three Spirituals." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 344-345. Print.

“Calvary Crossing a Ford”

Walt Whitman believed in the everyday ordinary man and focused his writings on that concept (Whitman 340). Henry David Thoreau also wrote and firmly believed throughout his life that the common man can reform themselves and in doing so, reform the surroundings and the government (Harding). Thoreau and Whitman had Transcendentalist view on the importance of the individual. In "Calvary Crossing a Ford", Whitman expressed the importance of each individual soldier in a portrayal of the Union troops crossing a river (Whitman 341). Since "each person a picture" as opposed to all of the soldiers being one unit of the Union Army, readers can identify better with the soldiers and the hardships, violence, and death they went through as opposed to reading about the thousands of causalities each side faced and not having that personal connection (Whitman 340). Henry David Thoreau believed that each individual could shape the future and all aspects of their lives (Harding). Based on that, Thoreau would agree with the theory that each soldier in both sides of the Civil War could affect the outcome of each battle and in the end the outcome of the American Civil War. Walt Whitman served as a nurse during the Civil War and treated soldiers on both the Union and Confederate side (Whitman 340). He saw first hand how the individual soldier impacted each battle of the internal conflict.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a role model for Walt Whitman. Emerson thought that the ideal poet was one who "has a new thought... a new experience to unfold; he will tell us how it was with him, and all men will be richer in his fortune" (Whitman 340). Walt Whitman took that to heart and strived to be like Emerson's idea of a great poet. By serving in the Civil War, Whitman used that first hand experience to write about what he observed from the soldiers, surroundings, and overall feelings as he nursed the wounded, sick, and dying American soldiers (Whitman 340). I believe that Whitman succeeded in his goal to be like Emerson's ideal poet as Whitman did make future men "richer" with the knowledge and feelings in all of Whitman's poems.


Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 09 Feb. 2012.

Whitman, Walt. "Calvary Crossing a Ford." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 340-341. Print.

“The Gettysburg Address”

After the blood battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated the battleground as a military cemetery on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Lincoln 401). The speech he gave that day was one of the most famous of President Lincoln's addresses and almost every American child knows the opening line of "Four score and seven years ago..." (Lincoln 402). Lincoln, also known as the Great Emancipator, was against slavery, going as far as exercising his wartime Commander in Chief abilities to set the slaves free in the Union (Divine). Before he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln wanted to allow the African American freemen to be able to coexist with white men in the South with equality (Divine). Unfortunately, Lincoln never made an official Reconstruction plan, so his ideas never happened and blacks continued to have unequal rights and acts of cruelty and violence were still practiced on the black freemen (Divine).

Ralph Waldo Emerson made points in his writing that strongly agreed with Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address". Emerson wrote that "the Civil War the air was full of heroism" which is what the "Gettysburg Address" is literally about (Hawthorne) (Lincoln 402). When President Lincoln dedicated the military cemetery he commented on the "brave men, living and dead" and how they defined the struggle for freedom with their lives (Lincoln 402). Emerson disagreed with Lincoln on how to free the slaves. President Lincoln believed that the first step was emancipation and, affirming his belief that men are good and not cruel savages, Lincoln had faith that black people would be treated equal and after some time, have the same rights as American citizens just like the white men (Divine). Emerson made clear that "nothing is more disgusting than the crowing about liberty by slaves, as most men are, and the flippant mistaking for freedom of some paper preamble, like a Declaration of Independence, or the statute right to vote." (Hawthorne). Emerson was not a fan of Lincoln's Emancipation as he did not think that that one speech and that one piece of legislature would solve any problems.

Henry David Thoreau had a "limited and distorted" view on slavery in the South, but was very vocal about his views on liberty and equality (Harding). In the "Gettysburg Address" Lincoln opens his address by reminding the audience that the nation was "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the propostion that all men are created equal" (Lincoln 402). Lincoln and Thoreau both agreed on liberty for everyone, but unfortunately Lincoln did not live to see it happen and Thoreau never took action to back up his words.



Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 05 Feb. 2012.

Hawthorne, Julian. "Emerson as an American." In The Genius and Character of Emerson. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1885. Quoted as "Emerson as an American." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 08 Feb. 2012.

Lincoln, Abraham. "The Gettysburg Address." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 400-402. Print.

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”

Frederick Douglass' "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" was a very eye opening piece. Douglass, a former slave, was a speaker and author on antislavery and was a renown abolitionist (Douglass 336). His "July Fourth for the Negro" speech was given to a white audience, who I am sure had never thought of the 4th of July as a slap in the face to African Americans in America (Douglass 337). Douglass believes the celebration of the fourth of July is "a thin veil to cover up the crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages" (Douglass 337). Ralph Waldo Emerson's argument that a "flippant mistaking for freedom of some paper preamble, like a Declaration of Independence, or the statute right to vote" is a assumption made by the "superficial" white American (Hawthorne). Emerson's argument would have fit in well with Fredrick Douglass' speech in Rochester New York (Emerson 337). Ralph Waldo Emerson was very blunt with his views on slavery, just as Thoreau was. Henry David Thoreau believed that slavery was "the issue" of his time (Harding). He was a big supported of John Brown, a rebellious antislavery martyr, and Brown's need to change the country as an individual (Cisco). Henry David Thoreau was all about the individual and self reliance (Harding). Fredrick Douglass made clear in his speech that white men were not thinking of black people when they celebrate the nation's independence (Douglass 337). His reasoning is sound as the shouts of "liberty and equality" did not apply to all Americans (Douglass 337). While white Americans were living well off and free, while both slave and free blacks were living in poverty, with cruelty and violence looming over their shoulders everyday (Douglass 336). The African Americans were slowly granted rights in America, only for those rights to be taken away by white supremacists and Black Codes. After abolitionists like Fredrick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau were gone, there work still resonated with Americans, spurring new antislavery movements (Cisco).


Cisco, Michael. "Henry David Thoreau: Bachelor of Thought and Nature." In Bloom, Harold, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 05 Feb. 2012.

Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 336-337. Print.

Harding, Walter. A Thoreau Handbook by Walter Harding: pp. 131-173 (New York University Press, 1959). © 1959 by New York University Press. Quoted as "Thoreau's Ideas" in Harold Bloom, ed. Henry David Thoreau, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 05 Feb. 2012.

Hawthorne, Julian. "Emerson as an American." In The Genius and Character of Emerson. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1885. Quoted as "Emerson as an American." in Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 05 Feb. 2012.