“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Ambrose Bierce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wym_-Vi9D2Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw0wEMIBfos

Vocabulary

• Subordinate (n.)- one who is lower in rank• Evade (v.)- to escape or avoid• Summarily (adv.)- in a way that is quick and

bypasses usual procedures• Ludicrous (adj.) absurd; ridiculous• Inaccessible (adj.) not obtained easily;

unreachable

• Apprise (v.)- to give notice to; inform• Preternaturally (adv.)- extraordinarily• Perceptibly (adv.) – noticeably; in a way that

can be perceived by the senses or the mind• Interminable (adj.)- endless• Ineffable (adj.) unable to be expressed in

words

PART I• 1. Where does the opening action take place?• 2. Were the man’s executioners Confederate

or Union soldiers?• 3. What is a sentinel? What was the job of the

sentinels in this occasion?• *4. Bottom of 582 Column One: Read the last

line beginning “Death is a…” and read through the rest of that paragraph. What do these two sentences mean?

• 5. How might one know that the man to be hung was a civilian? What does “habit” mean in this sentence?

• 6. According to the military code, “gentlemen” may also be ______________.

• 7. What sound disturbed the prisoner’s observations and thoughts of family?

• 8. What are the three similes which describe the sound?

• *9. What thought invades the prisoner’s mind?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhsFvMKsaMs

Part Two

• *10. List five facts about Peyton Farquhar.• 11. What did he long to do? How

does this explain his predicament?• 12. The visitor is described as “gray-

clad.” What does the author wish the reader to infer from this?• *13. What may the reader conclude

from Farquhar’s conversation with the scout?

Part Three

• 14. What simile (with strong imagery) is used to describe the excruciating pain that Farquhar is feeling?

• *15. The “cold and dark” might be foreshadowing. Explain.

• 16.What does the light symbolize?• 17. Beginning with “He felt his head emerge….to “…

shriek!” Paraphrase these amazing lines.• 18. What does preternaturally alert mean?• 19. What details are given which shows us how Farquhar

is observing life with “new eyes” and “new ears?”

*20. Why do you think the author describes the soldiers, captain, executioners etc. as “grotesque,” “horrible,” and “gigantic?”

• 21. “…the next time they will use a charge of grape. I must keep my eye upon the gun; the smoke will apprise me- the report arrives too late; it lags behind the missile. That is a good gun.”Paraphrase this line.

• 22. “He had been caught in a vortex and was being whirled on with a velocity of advance and gyration that made him giddy and sick.” What was happening to him?

• 23. What does the “music of Aeolian harps” foreshadow?

• 24. While running through the forest, Farquhar is surprised. What surprises him? What does “uncanny” mean?

• 25. “By nightfall he was fatigued, footsore, famishing.” What literary device is being used here?

• 26. Beginning with “At last…and going to “tongue.” List all the images that are symbolic of moving from life on earth to the afterlife.

• *27. “How softly the turf had carpeted…” What might you infer from this line?

• 28. “As he pushes open the gate…” List all the uses of alliteration and assonance in this sentence.

• 29. How is the experience of Farquhar’s death described?

• 30. The author’s final sentence is quite shocking. How does he use sentence structure and diction to make it effective