1. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Comprehension Study Guide
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

2. Who is the author?
Ambrose Bierce

3. What is Peyton Farquhar's occupation?
Southern Plantation Owner
Slave Owner

4. He attempted to destroy the railroad bridge at Owl Creek.
Why is he being hanged?
He attempted to destroy the railroad bridge at Owl Creek.

5. 3. At what point in the story do you learn this?
The 2nd section provides background information on Farquhar, including how he came to commit the act for which he is about to be executed.

6. It is revealed that he was at home when a soldier rode up and told him that the Union Army would soon be crossing the vulnerable Owl Creek bridge.

7. 4. What literary device is used in Part II?
FLASHBACK
Any scene or episode which takes the story back in time to recount events that happened before.

8. 5. How does the author build suspense throughout the story?
Tension-release technique - he gives us strange, but peaceful and hopeful images and then hits us with gunfire and pain.
Then, suddenly, Peyton is off swimming or running again.

9. Look at the paragraph that begins, "By nightfall..."
Before increasing the sense of danger and suspense through gunfire or pain, Bierce takes us into a state of mysterious calm.
Look at the paragraph that begins, "By nightfall..."
There are mysterious and almost supernatural descriptions of the forest.
Identify and list the strange or fantastic-sounding passages and images.

10. the road that seemed untraveled
no fields bordered it, no dwelling anywhere
black bodies of the trees terminating on the horizon in a point, like a diagram in a lesson in perspective
great golden stars looking unfamiliar grouped in strange constellations
a secret and malign significance
singular noises
whispers in an unknown tongue

11. Where do all of these mysterious images seem to suggest Peyton is heading?
To the next life?
To the afterlife. It might be wrong to suggest "heaven," as the malign significance of the stars do not suggest that Peyton will have a happy afterlife.

12. What horrible images of physical injury come next?
pain in his neck
swollen neck
black bruise
congested eyes
tongue swollen with thirst
fever

13. Bierce takes Peyton & the reader back and forth from the threat of death, to beautiful images of life, to images of an afterlife, to the physical reality of pain, and finally almost into the arms of his wife.

14. But in the end, Peyton Farquhar is dead: his body, with a broken neck, swinging gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.

15. Why does Bierce end the story with Peyton's death
Why does Bierce end the story with Peyton's death? Why didn't he take the story in the other direction and allow him to survive?
Bierce is most likely punishing Peyton as a symbol of the hypocritical & cowardly southern aristocracy who refused to give up their excessive wealth & the slavery system it depended upon.
Southerners divided a country and ignited a tragic war which resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent young men.

16. Note: remember that Ambrose Bierce himself fought in the war on the side of the Union army and was badly injured in battle. Perhaps in writing this story "Bitter Bierce," as he came to be known, sought some sort of retribution against those he felt were responsible for the American Civil War.

17. TAKE A 5 Minute “BRAIN “BREAK”
Using this PowerPoint break timer
This PowerPoint slide uses images, custom animation, and timing to provide a countdown timer that you can use in any presentation. When you open the template, you’ll notice that the timer is set at 00:00. However, when you start the slide show, the timer will start at the correct time and count down by 1-minute intervals until it gets to 1 minute. At that point, it will count down in two 30-seconds intervals to 00:00.
To insert this slide into your presentation
Save this template as a presentation (.ppt file) on your computer.
Open the presentation that will contain the timer.
On the Slides tab, place your insertion point after the slide that will precede the timer. (Make sure you don't select a slide. Your insertion point should be between the slides.)
On the Insert menu, click Slides from Files.
In the Slide Finder dialog box, click the Find Presentation tab.
Click Browse, locate and select the timer presentation, and then click Open.
In the Slides from Files dialog box, select the timer slide.
Select the Keep source formatting check box. If you do not select this check box, the copied slide will inherit the design of the slide that precedes it in the presentation.
Click Insert.
Click Close.