In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the author, Ambrose Bierce has successfully engaged the reader making them want to read the story. The way Bierce formatted the story by writing it in three sections made the story exciting and suspenseful. Using person versus society and person versus self, conflicts made the reader feel bad for the main character, Peyton Farquhar.
Bierce captures the interest of the reader by drawing them in and making the reader feel for the main character, "He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children" (107). By giving the character a family and feelings the reader is sympathetic towards the man being hung. Bierce divides the story into three parts. In the first section he leaves the reader hanging just like the main character. The second section goes back in time and you realize who the man hanging is, he is a slave owner named Peyton Farquhar, the reader also finds out that he was tricked into going to the bridge where he is later hanged. In the third part of the story the author is telling us the story from Peyton's limited omniscient point of view. While this character is swimming through the water with bullets brushing against him, the reader is once again pulling for this character to escape. Everyone is against Peyton.
The main conflict in this story is person versus society. A soldier tricks Peyton into going to Owl Creek Bridge, little does he know they are going to try to kill him. After falling into the water they continue making an effort to take his life by shooting at him, "He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck," (109). In this part of the story person versus self is also a conflict because Peyton is against his mind, he is dreaming his escape through the water and forest and back to his wife. He has already died from being hanged and the third section is last thought he has on the way down before the rope pulls tight.
