With the rope around his neck, the reader expects him to die. The author creates and maintains suspense by tricking the reader that Peyton escapes the ordeal. Moreover, the reader realizes that it was only the last moments of his life just before the hangman’s rope broke his neck and rendered him lifeless.Įven though the hanging is an important part of the plot of the story, it remains in the shadows of it. Still, as the story ends, one realizes that it was only taking place in the mind of the main character. As we take note of this significant period, it appears to last for the better part of the day. In the journey, he seems to escape the hangman and manage to get back to his family once again, as demonstrated by the quote “As these thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were flashed into the doomed man’s brain rather than evolved from it, the captain nodded to the sergeant” (Bierce, 4).
As Bierce succeeds in portraying the most intimate thoughts of Peyton as he struggles to escape from the hangman, it creates a dramatic journey of anxiety and suspense. This brief moment is perceived to be the better part of a full day. The author recreates a significant period for a man who is about to die.
In the story, the author uses a third-person narrator with a limited omniscient point of view that creates a tone of analysis in describing Peyton’s experience before passing away. However, the optimism is soon taken away when the reader realizes that he was hanging from the bridge.
All through the short story, the reader is on edge to see if, in any case, Peyton can survive the ordeal. Subsequently, as the noose breaks, the reader almost sees if the prisoner can flee from the Union forces and make it back to his wife and children. One can only imagine that he is the one who tried to destroy the bridge since his fate is to be concealed by hanging from that same bridge. One understands later that a confederate soldier had told the main character in the story about the bridge.
Therefore, this beginning sentence cements the reader tightly and instantly into the story. However, the reader is not told the reason for this sad beginning. A rope closely encircled his neck” (A.Bierce, 1). As the story begins, the reader is introduced to a man having a noose around his neck, “The man’s hands were behind his back, his wrists bound with a cord. The author captures the reader’s attention with elements of horror and suspense throughout the story.
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