1. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story
Literary Focus: Point of View
Reading Skills: Analyzing Sequence of Events

2. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

3. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
Our minds can conjure up vivid scenarios of triumph or defeat, joy or disaster.
What thoughts might race through the mind of a person who faces death? To what extremes might the human imagination go?

4. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
As this story opens, a man named Peyton Farquhar is about to be hanged from a bridge by Union soldiers.
As we follow Farquhar’s last, desperate thoughts of escape, we learn
who he is
how he came to be in this situation
his fate—imagined and real
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5. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Literary Focus: Point of View
Point of view is the vantage point from which a writer tells a story.
Like a movie camera panning the scene and then zooming in close, the narrator of Bierce’s story adopts several points of view.

6. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Literary Focus: Point of View
As you read the story, watch for these points of view:
omniscient—the narrator seems to know everything about all the characters or events
objective—the narrator reports the events in a detached way without comment
third-person limited—the narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of a single character
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7. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Reading Skills: Analyzing Sequence of Events
Bierce relates the events of this story out of sequence.
As you read, make a list of the major events in the order in which they’re presented.
Order in Which Events Are Presented
1. A man is about to be hanged off a railroad bridge.
2. At his home, Peyton Farquhar is told by a soldier in Confederate uniform that Union forces have taken Owl Creek Bridge.

8. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Reading Skills: Analyzing Sequence of Events
After you’ve finished reading, create a time line that shows the order in which the events actually happened.
Chronological Order of Events
Peyton learns that Union forces have taken Owl Creek Bridge.
Peyton is about to be hanged by Union soldiers.

9. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Reading Skills: Analyzing Sequence of Events
Compare your first list of events with your time line. Think about why Bierce chose to relate the events out of sequence.
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10. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Background
Bierce pulls no punches: He attempts to depict people and events as they really are.
This realism stands in stark contrast to romantic notions of life and storytelling.
The story is set in the Deep South during the Civil War (1861–1865).
The horrors of war serve as a setting for Bierce’s real focus: the mind of a man condemned to death.
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11. Vocabulary

12. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Vocabulary
Previewing the Vocabulary
sentinel n.: guard; sentry.
deference n.: respect.
perilous adj.: dangerous.
encompassed v. used as adj.: surrounded; enclosed.
oscillation n.: regular back-and-forth movement.
pivotal adj.: central; acting as a point around which other things turn.

13. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Vocabulary
Previewing the Vocabulary
appalling adj.: frightful.
gyration n.: circular movement; whirling.
abrasion n.: scrape.
malign adj.: harmful; evil.

14. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Vocabulary
Vocabulary Activity: Synonyms
Match the synonyms in the left-hand column with the Vocabulary words in the right.
enclosed _____
scrape _____
guard _____
central _____
whirling _____ b
a. sentinel
b. encompassed
c. pivotal
d. gyration
e. abrasion e a c d

15. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Vocabulary
Vocabulary Activity: Antonyms
Match the antonyms in the left-hand column with the Vocabulary words in the right.
well-meaning _____
disrespect _____
stillness _____
safe _____
wonderful _____ i
e. deference
f. perilous
g. oscillation
h. appalling
i. malign e g f h
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16. Meet the Writer

17. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Meet the Writer
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) was the tenth of thirteen children. Mainly self-educated, he fought bravely in the Civil War before turning to writing. His witty, caustic pieces—often exposing the deceit and greed of his times—earned him the nickname “Bitter Bierce.”
More About the Writer
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