"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce was written with much attention paid to the minute details of the actual story. For example, the narrator describes in detail how the sentinels held their rifles. "A sentinel at each end of the bridge stood with his rifle in the position known as 'support,' that is to say, vertical in front of the left shoulder, the hammer resting on the forearm thrown straight across …showed first 75 words of 324 total…

…showed last 75 words of 324 total…he is only hallucinating or dreaming is recognizable due to the fact that Farquhar died on Owl Creek bridge of a broken neck. So, despite his attempts to free himself and return home, they were all in vain and worthless, and gave him only a short time more to reflect on his family and his life. The fact, however, that the narrator never tells what this man did to deserve to die is very disturbing.