Re: an occurrence

The opening describes a very dramatic scene. By starting with the man on the precipice, both figuratively and literally, rather than by starting on section II, the reader gets a taste of action early. The images of a man bound on a bridge about to be hanged are more provocative than a job description of a civil war era gentleman. On the other hand, the point of view is completely passive. We get no immediate knowledge of Farquhar’s character. This vagueness has the effect of drawing the reader in. As the reader is fed little bits of information amidst such ambiguity, the reader wants to learn more.
The point of view transition near the end of the fourth paragraph is quite a contrast. The author describes various features of the scene, including how the prisoner has not been blindfolded, directly into a description of what the prisoner sees and subsequently what he thinks. With this, the reader develops a much more personal relationship with the prisoner. Up until this point, the reader sympathizes with the prisoner, particularly after the description in paragraph three, but the mechanical tone of the previous paragraphs seem to suggest that unfortunate inevitable outcome is merely the product of an event that occurred much earlier. In that sense, the execution is more of a formality than anything, and the condemned man is exactly that: condemned. This transition in point of view reflects the change from this attitude to the personal struggle of Peyton Farquhar.

In paragraph 9 of section III, there is another conspicuous change in point of view. There is the contrast between the incredibly personal internal imagery of the hot bullet against his skin to being called “the hunted man”. Because of this switch, the reader is forced to draw parallels from the beginning where this point of view is also used. The description of the soldiers working with mechanical precision in firing is certainly similar to their work ethic during the execution. The point of view casts the army in the roll of an entity that is just trying to do their job. However, after the recent struggle, this innocence seems to shift to cruel single minded efficiency. Additionally, moments like this could reflect the prisoners own state of mind. Under the extreme stress of the situation, it is likely that the prisoner is himself dissociating himself with his situation. it is rather ironic that this is in this point of view considering what we learn at the end of the story.