Part I
1. Why might Bierce have chosen to conceal the identity of the condemned man?
2. Where are the man and the soldiers standing?
3. Why does Bierce personify death as “dignitary”?
4. What two opposite descriptions of the river does the author give?
5. What is making the loud beating sound that the man hears? (470)
6. What happened when the sergeant stepped aside?
Part II
7. How does Peyton Farquhar feel about being a soldier?
8. What side of the Civil war did Farquhar support?
9. Who stopped by Farquhar’s house for some water?
10. Which army is taking over at Owl Creek Bridge?
11. What does Farquhar intend to do?
12. What was the Federal scout’s purpose in this story?
Part III
13. What was the man’s name who was going to be hung in part I?
14. How would you describe the heightened senses that Farquhar is having at the top paragraph, second column, page 472?
15. What did Farquhar, who was in the water, see when looking at one of the soldiers? (bottom 472) How is that possible?
16. Why does Bierce describe the forest with having pink light and harps in the wind?
17. What was the mood in the forest? (474)
18. What was his wife’s reaction to seeing him? What should her reaction have been considering how he looked?
19. What details suggest that Farquahar’s escape occurs in his mind?
20. Why were railroad bridges like the one at Owl Creek such an important target during the Civil War?
thank you!!
