Ambrose Bierce implies several things about the psychology of the human mind in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". One is that the mind essentially creates its own reality, especially in a moment of great stress. Nothing that Peyton thinks is happening actually is. Although the entire episode Peyton imagines takes place in a fraction of a second, in his mind he travels quite far after the miraculous breaking of the hangman's noose. Even though...
Ambrose Bierce implies several things about the psychology of the human mind in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". One is that the mind essentially creates its own reality, especially in a moment of great stress. Nothing that Peyton thinks is happening actually is. Although the entire episode Peyton imagines takes place in a fraction of a second, in his mind he travels quite far after the miraculous breaking of the hangman's noose. Even though there are logical inconsistencies in what he imagines he sees in the forest, such as the timing being off on how long a journey should take, or being able to see a spectrum of light in "all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass", his mind accepts all of it at face value.
Bierce also shows that a mind will reject a subject it perceives as too unpleasant. It is impossible for Peyton to accept that he is really about to die, and his mind creates a much happier outcome for him. He escapes, and will live! The reader is fooled as well, as maybe the happier outcome is one we would also prefer.
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