An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Essay Example

It is evidently clear from the discussion that the first reality that escapes Peyton is his role in the American Civil War. Even though this Southern planter is young, in his thirties, Peyton does not enlist in the army. The story does not go into details, but it leads a person to wonder. The writer does relate to the reader about some of Peyton’s loyal acts for the Confederacy. Peyton clearly wants to fight for the South, not caring about his own safety. It seems he has an idea about what a soldier’s life consists of, making him want the glory of the fight, but in reality, he does not have the skills to be a soldier.

Instead, he does more humble acts of rebellion. Such as feeding and clothing tired Confederate soldiers, or even sabotaging the Yankee’s as long as the task only took a planter’s knowledge. Peyton only took on the mission to destroy the Owl Creek Bridge, because he thought there was not a heavy Union presence in the area and it did not take a genius to light the dry wood under the bridge on fire. Another reality Peyton does not face is the difficulty in razing the Owl Creek Bridge.

Upon the word of a man in a Confederate uniform, Peyton heads out on this mission. He never took into account that the man was a Union spy in a Confederate uniform. Believing the man, Peyton thinks that the Union forces are light in that area and that it will be simple to torch the dry wood under the bridge. It’s clear that he does not know the bridge because he has to ask the Union spy where it was at. Not taking into account all the factors of this act of sabotage, Peyton believed he could pull off this glorious act of defiance against the invading Union Army.

He also did not calculate the risk of the Yankee’s order of death to anyone who sabotaged the bridge. Peyton never believed he would be caught. In reality, the Union presence was heavy around the bridge.  Since Peyton never faced the reality of the situation, the Yankee’s captured him easily.