“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Study Guide
Put all answers in complete sentences, citing page numbers where answers are
found.
1.
How did Peyton Farquhar get caught?
2.
What is the loud distraction he hears? Of what is this an example as a
literary device?
3.
What happens when Farquhar goes under water?
4.
How are Union soldiers portrayed?
5.
What happens when the board is kicked out from under Farquhar?
6.
Farquhar appears to have escaped the gunshots while he’s in the river.
What happens?
7.
What does the ending of the story reveal?
8.
What point of view device does Bierce use in the description of the ticking
watch?
9.
Define “omniscient” point of view.
10.
What hints about Farquhar’s real fate are you given throughout the story?
As always, find two examples to illustrate this. (hint, hint)
11.
Into how many parts is the story divided? Why is the story divided the
way it is?
12.
What kind of language and tone are used in Part I? Do the language and
tone change? Why?
13.
What new sorts of views of Farquhar do we get in Part II?
14.
What is the main subject of Part III?
15.
How much time passes?
16.
What can we say about point of view in Part III? How close is the
perspective of Bierce to that of Farquhar?