#1 Ambrose Bierce - The Last Thought

Bila Lee
English 48B
January 8, 2009
Journal #1 Ambrose Bierce

Quote
“If I could free my hands,” he thought, “I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream. By diving I could evade the bullets and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to the woods and get away home. My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invader’s farthest advance” (Bierce 361).

Summary
The quote was narrated by Peyton Farquhar, an ordinary planter who was being executed. It is a worth-researchable issue to study the emotion fluctuation of those condemned criminals who are going to die in a minute – Final reflection and evaluation of his/her life? Regret for what he/she committed? Or simply waiting for the last breath? Peyton Farquhar chose to employ his imagination to escape from dying, and to self-entertain by inserting a supernatural power to himself. In fact, Farquhar knew he could not twist his fate and would certainly die, and hence cannot refrain from thinking his beloved wife and children.

Responses
Ambrose Bierce, in his famous short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” skillfully divided the story into three parts, in which some obscure details were gradually disclosed. For instance, the opening created a formal and disciplined image that I supposed Farquhar was a dangerous, military criminal; and later Bierce told us that Farquhar was an ordinary planter which left a big question mark – what’s wrong with this civilian? Bierce spent the entire Part II to explain why Farquhar was arrested and executed, oh, he was an innocent victim who was trapped by a Northern soldier during the Civil War. Like eNotes says, “Bierce leads the reader to believe that the rope breaks and that Farquhar falls into the water below, only to escape to his farm, where he is reunited with his wife,” my impression towards Peyton Farquhar was indeed changed – from I thought he deserved the death sentence to I hoped he could successfully escape.

Death is inevitably the final stage of any mankind; attitudes towards death vary from person to person. Some people choose to sacrifice themselves to benefit others or the society whereas some choose to commit suicide when they cannot overcome a small obstacle. In the story, Peyton Farquhar was sentenced to death, in which he was expected to die pretty soon. In his last thought, he vividly imagined a supernatural escape plan to overthrow his fate, regardless of its slim success rate. He successfully employed his creativity, imagination and a sense of humor to entertain himself.

Honestly, I admire his calm shortly before the execution. Let me illustrate two personal examples to strengthen my appreciation. I view myself as a brave boy who like tackling challenges and difficulties; nevertheless I am always unnaturally silent and behave awkwardly when I am in an amusement park (especially when we line up for a roller coaster.) In fact, I am not scared of any rides but it is my mind coordinates myself not to think too much. I choose to calm myself down through complete silence and absolute concentration. Another secret of mine is that I dislike flight trip, especially after the 9-11 tragedy. I am nervous to travel by airplane because of terrorism and unexpected accidents. Seriously, I always suspect there are some terrorists in the plane, in which they would pick me as hostage and chop my head off. Sadly, as an International student from Hong Kong, I have to take at least two flights every year, and my strategy to calm myself down is also by not thinking.

To be honest, it is very difficult to think, to imagine and to react before an exciting action. But Peyton Farquhar could still have the above quotation as his last thought.