Peyton Farquhar is the main character of Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek, a short story about Farquhar's eventual hanging for his support of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The fractured nature of the narrative allows the plot to culminate at a point where the final connection is made. Peyton Farquhar's final death opens a window into her final moments on earth as a living being. Moving in her mind alongside him as he escapes death and makes his way through the woods to his wife and children illustrates Farquhar's unwavering loyalty to his family, even in the face of death. His duty to support his family is, consciously and unconsciously, his first priority. His escape was not just an attempt at survival driven by human instinct, but rather a commitment to return to his beloved family, the first priority in Farquhar's life. A commitment so strong that his desire to return to his family surpasses all logic and all basic instincts even when it is exclusively a construct of the mind. One of Farquhar's strongest feelings, his dislike of the Union Army, does not cross his mind during the escape. This is especially notable since this group is responsible for permanently removing Farquhar from his family's life. This is evident in Farquhar's last thoughts before being hanged, in his only apparent reason for escape, in his return home to his family, and in the journey he perseveres back home before his true fate is revealed. The conventional belief is that anyone facing imminent death uses their final moment to think about those who mean the most in their life. Although it is almost impossible to confirm, it seems that the overwhelming finality of the death would render any subsequent… paper media… of his family, not present in his construction. The plot of the narrative is not in chronological order. Therefore, the person's fate is evident before his true character is revealed. Evidence for this statement is evident in Farquhar's final thoughts before being hanged by the Union Army. Furthermore, his motivation of returning to his wife and children makes this argument further clear. Finally, the thirty miles Farquhar walked after being so close to death further demonstrates that his dedication to his family surpasses his instincts. The realistic construction of a reality in which Farquhar escapes and is reunited with his family illustrates the constant longing for the most significant part of his life, his family. Works Cited Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton, 2008. 300-306.