Transcript An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

“An Occurrence at
Owl Creek Bridge”
By Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
• Born in Ohio in 1842
• Parents were poor but literary couple
• The 10th of 13 children
• All kids’ names began with an “A”: Abigail,
Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus,
Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur,
Adelia, and Aurelia
Ambrose Bierce
• Enlisted in the Union Army’s 9th Indiana Infantry
Regiment.
• Received newspaper attention for his daring
rescue, under fire, of a gravely wounded
comrade at the Battle of Rich Mountain
• Sustained a serious head wound at the Battle of
Kennesaw Mountain
Ambrose Bierce
• 1913, bored, he sets off for Mexico to report on
or join in its revolution.
• “Goodbye,” he wrote, “If you hear of my being
stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot
to rags, please know that I think it a pretty good
way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease,
or falling down the cellar stairs.”
• No further word was ever heard from him.
Setting
• The action takes place at a railroad bridge
in northern Alabama during the U.S. Civil
War, not long after the Battle of Corinth in
northern Mississippi
• October 3 and 4, 1862.
Time of Day
• Begins early in the morning, as disclosed by the
boldfaced words in the following passage in
Part I
• [Peyton Farquhar] closed his eyes in order to fix
his last thoughts upon his wife and children. The
water, touched to gold by the early sun, the
brooding mists under the banks at some
distance down the stream, the fort, the soldiers,
the piece of drift–all had distracted him.
• Ends in the evening of the same day.
First Three Sentences:
“A man stood upon a railroad bridge in
northern Alabama, looking down into the
swift water twenty feet below. The man’s
hands were behind his back, the wrists
bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled
his neck.”
Characters
• Peyton Farquhar: Southern plantation owner
who is to be hanged by Union soldiers as
punishment for his attempt (or suspected
attempt) to destroy Owl Creek Bridge.
Mrs. Farquhar: Farquhar's wife.
Union Soldiers: They include executioners,
sentinels, and overseeing officers on the bridge
Union Scout: Soldier who wears Confederate
gray when he rides onto Farquhar's plantation
(in a flashback) and asks for a drink of water.
Battle of Shiloh (Near Owl Creek)
• April 6-7
• On the first day of the battle, the
Confederates struck with the intention of
driving the Union defenders away from the
river and into the swamps of Owl Creek to
the west, hoping to defeat Grant's Army of
the Tennessee before reinforcements
showed up.
• The Confederate battle lines became
confused during the fierce fighting, and
Grant's men instead fell back to the
northeast, in the direction of Pittsburg
Landing. A position on a slightly sunken
road, nicknamed the "Hornet's Nest",
defended by Union men and artillery.
• Reinforcements arrived in the evening and
turned the tide the next morning, when the
Union commanders launched a
counterattack along the entire line.
• The Confederates were forced to retreat,
ending their hopes that they could block
the Union advance into northern
Mississippi.
Journal
• In a well-organized essay, explain the
nature and relative importance of two or
three means by which you keep track of
time and discuss what these means reveal
about the kind of person you are.
• (You are not limited to familiar timekeeping devices; you may consider
recurring events, “inner clocks,” or other
means.)
Soundtrack
• Listen to the following music and imagine
where it might be placed in a movie
soundtrack for “Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge.”
• Where is Farquhar? What is he doing?
What are the Union soldiers perhaps
doing?
Questions
• Do you sympathize with Farquhar?
Explain your answer.
• Did the Union forces have a right to hang
Farquhar without first trying him in a court
of law?
• How should civilians who participate in war
be treated? Like civilians? Like soldiers?
Questions
• Do you believe Bierce’s story deserve the
consideration to be a classic? Explain.
Questions
• What methods does Bierce use to build
suspense?
• Explain Bierce’s views of war and the
military. How does he feel about it?
Support your response with examples
from the text.
Questions
• Is Ambrose Bierce biased toward one side
of the Civil War? Does the narrator
describe the Union soldiers more
positively than Farquhar, or vice versa?
Questions
• If you knew you were about to die, what
would you think about? Would it be similar
to Farquhar’s?
Questions
• If you were one of the Union soldiers, how
would you deal with the capital
punishment about to be committed on
Peyton Farquar?
Your Opinion
• Farquhar deserves to be executed since
he disobeyed a rule and attempted to burn
down a bridge.
Your Opinion
• Farquhar’s sentence is too harsh. He
doesn’t deserve to die as punishment for
trying to burn down a bridge, especially
because he is a civilian and not a soldier.
Your Opinion
• War is an inescapable force that destroys
everything in its path.
Your Opinion
• If you were to rewrite the story from the
perspective of one of the soldiers, what
would it be like? How would one of the
soldiers experience reality in the moments
before and after Farquhar is hanged?
Questions
• Did the ending surprise you? Why or why
not?
Questions
• How long does it take for Farquhar to die?
• Why does the verb tense change from
past tense to present tense in the second
to last paragraph?
Peyton Farquhar•
•
•
•
A. is tricked by a scout for the opposition
B. betrays his own people for money
C. turns his back on his wife and children
D. lives a long and prosperous life
Early in the story, what interrupts
Farquhar's thoughts about his wife and
children?
•
•
•
•
A. A train heading toward the bridge
B. A hail of bullets
C. the arrival of more troops
D. The ticking of his watch
After the board is kicked out from under
him, Farquhar experiences•
•
•
•
A. an intense sharpening of his senses
B. despair and grief
C. a surprising burst of happiness
D. relief that he is going to live
After Farquhar appears to have
escaped from the gunfire while
in the river, he•
•
•
•
A. is too exhausted to swim
B. is kicked up by a passing riverboat
C. is recaptured and shot at once
D. lands on a bank and runs through the
woods
How much actual time passes in
the story?
•
•
•
•
A. A few minutes
B. A few hours
C. One day
D. A day and a night
In part, the flashbacks in this
story best illustrate• A. the importance of staying true to one's
values
• B. how all reality is an illusion
• C. the price Confederates pay for being
traitors
• D. our deep attachment to life
• E. Farquhar's love of his plantation and the
Confederacy's values
When Farquhar hears his watch
ticking with an exaggerated
intensity, Bierce is using the
point of view known as•
•
•
•
•
A. 2nd person limited
B. 1st person
C. Objective
D. 3rd person limited
E. 2nd person objective
Platonic Criticism
Aristotelian Criticism
Horatian Criticism
Longinian Criticism
Formalist Criticism