Flashcards for An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Mrs. Farquhar

Mrs. Farquhar has a brief but crucial role in Part II of Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which is the story's only flashback section explaining how her husband, Peyton Farquhar, ended up on the gallows.

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Peyton Farquhar

Peyton Farquhar is the main character and focal point of Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

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The Captain

The Captain is a minor yet crucial Union officer in Part I of Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

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The Federal Scout

The Federal Scout plays a minor yet crucial role as an antagonist in Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," acting as the unseen architect of Peyton Farquhar's fate.

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The Sentinels

The Sentinels are the Union soldiers stationed at each end of the railroad bridge in Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

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The Sergeant

The Sergeant is a minor but crucial Union soldier in Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

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“As Peyton Farquhar fell straight downward through the bridge he lost consciousness and was as one already dead.”

This line appears in Section III of Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), narrated in the third person during the moment Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate civilian, is hanged from the titular bridge by Union soldiers.

Narrator (third-person omniscient) · Section III

“The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded.”

This darkly ironic line opens Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), spoken by the third-person omniscient narrator as Federal soldiers prepare to hang Peyton Farquhar, a Southern civilian and plantation owner.

Narrator · Part I

“Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations of respect, even by those most familiar with him.”

This line comes from Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), narrated by a third-person omniscient voice in the opening section (Part I), as Union soldiers prepare to hang Confederate sympathizer Peyton Farquhar from the bridge.

Narrator · Part I

“The trees upon the bank were giant garden plants; he noted a definite order in their arrangement, inhaled the fragrance of their blooms.”

This passage appears in Part III of Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), narrated in the third person as we follow Peyton Farquhar's perspective.

Third-person narrator (Peyton Farquhar's perspective) · Part III

“He looked a moment at his 'unsteadfast footing,' then let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet.”

This line appears near the beginning of Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), where the condemned man, Peyton Farquhar, stands on the railroad bridge with a noose around his neck, moments away from execution by Union soldiers.

Narrator (third-person omniscient) · Part I

“Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family.”

This opening line of Part II of Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890) introduces the condemned man whose execution shapes the entire narrative.

Narrator · Part II

“He felt his head emerge; his eyes were blinded by the sunlight; his chest expanded convulsively, and with a supreme and crowning agony his lungs engulfed a great draught of air.”

This line is from Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890).

Third-person narrator (focalized through Peyton Farquhar) · Part III

“Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.”

This closing sentence comes from the third-person omniscient narrator in the final part (Part III) of Ambrose Bierce's 1890 short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

Third-person omniscient narrator · Part III

“He was now in full possession of his physical senses. They were, indeed, preternaturally keen and alert.”

This line appears in Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890), narrated in the third person during Section III — the extended escape sequence experienced by Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate civilian sentenced to be hanged from the bridge.

Third-person narrator · Section III

Owl Creek Bridge

In Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the bridge symbolizes the fragile line between life and death, as well as reality and illusion.

The Forest Path

In Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the forest path represents a tempting illusion of freedom and salvation.

The Noose

In Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the noose represents the unavoidable reality of death and the harsh line between life and illusion.

The River

In Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the river symbolizes the enticing illusion of freedom and the unavoidable divide between life and death.

The Ticking Watch

In Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, the ticking watch highlights the harsh illusion of time and the condemned mind's frantic twisting of reality.

Irony

The entire structure of the story hinges on dramatic irony that explodes at the final sentence.

Narrative Poem

Bierce organizes the story into three numbered sections that disrupt the flow of linear time.

Imagery

Bierce fills Part III with striking sensory imagery that makes Farquhar's hallucination feel more vivid than the clinical tone of Parts I and II.

Personification

Throughout Part III, natural forces take on human characteristics that reflect Farquhar's desperate desire to survive.

Pathetic Fallacy

The natural world in Part III reflects and intensifies Farquhar's emotional state in ways that, upon re-reading, come across as projections of a fading mind.

Extended Metaphor

The entire escape sequence in Part III serves as a deep metaphor for the mind's struggle to accept death.

Juxtaposition

Bierce contrasts the cold, mechanical language of military execution with the intense emotional turmoil of Farquhar's inner thoughts.

Symbolism

Owl Creek Bridge serves as a central symbol in the story, representing the divide between life and death, civilization and wilderness, reality and illusion.

Motif

Time—its distortion, suspension, and collapse—dominates the story's theme.

Dramatic Monologue

While not a strict verse dramatic monologue, Part III functions as a continuous interior monologue that serves a similar purpose—the reader finds themselves immersed in one person's thoughts, receiving their perceptions as if they were absolute truth.

Simile

Bierce employs simile in Part I to make the execution scene feel unfamiliar and to introduce the theme of distorted perception.

Free Verse

Though "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a work of prose fiction, the sentences in Part III take on a rhythmic, almost chant-like quality that feels akin to free verse.

planking

The flat wooden boards laid across the frame of a bridge to form the surface people walk or stand on; here it is the platform from which the condemned man is about to be dropped.

noun · Chapter 1

noose

A loop of rope tied with a sliding knot so that it tightens around whatever is placed inside it; when used in a hanging, it is placed around the condemned person's neck.

noun · Chapter 1

driftwood

Wood — branches, logs, or planks — that floats along a river or stream because it has been carried away by the current rather than placed there deliberately.

noun · Chapter 1

sluggish

Moving very slowly and without energy or force; used here to describe a stream whose current seems almost still to the watching man.

adjective · Chapter 1

sentinel

A soldier posted to stand guard and watch for danger or unauthorized movement; essentially a sentry whose job is to keep watch over a specific spot.

noun · Chapter 1

etiquette

The formal rules of correct behavior expected in a particular setting; in a military context, the precise ceremonial conduct that officers and soldiers are required to follow.

noun · Chapter 1

liberal

Broad and wide-ranging in what it permits or covers; here it means the military code applies to many categories of people, not just soldiers.

adjective · Chapter 2

provision

A specific rule or clause within a law or code that allows for or requires a particular action; here it means the military rules officially permit hanging civilians under certain conditions.

noun · Chapter 2

planter

In the antebellum American South, a wealthy landowner who ran a large farm worked by enslaved people; the term signals high social and economic status in that society.

noun · Chapter 2

ardent

Intensely enthusiastic and passionate about a cause or belief; in this text it describes someone whose support for the Confederacy burns with deep emotional commitment.

adjective · Chapter 2

perilous

Full of serious danger and risk; used here to describe missions or adventures that could easily result in injury, capture, or death.

adjective · Chapter 2

civilian

A person who is not a member of the armed forces; in this story the word matters because it explains why Farquhar cannot officially enlist yet still feels bound to serve the Confederate cause.

noun · Chapter 2

chivalric

Relating to the medieval code of knightly honor — bravery, loyalty, and gallantry — here applied to the romantic, idealized way Farquhar imagines soldierly duty and personal sacrifice.

adjective · Chapter 2

Federal

Belonging to or acting on behalf of the Union (the northern United States government) during the Civil War, as opposed to the Confederate side; a Federal scout is a Union spy.

adjective · Chapter 2

scout

A soldier sent ahead or in disguise to gather information about the enemy's positions, strength, or plans; here the scout pretends to be a Confederate soldier to trick Farquhar.

noun · Chapter 2

preternaturally

To a degree that goes beyond what is normal or natural, as if something supernatural were at work; here it describes senses so sharp and vivid they exceed ordinary human experience.

adverb · Chapter 3

keen

Extremely sharp and highly sensitive; used here to describe senses — sight, hearing, touch — that are working at an almost superhuman level of intensity.

adjective · Chapter 3

gyrated

Spun or whirled rapidly in a circular or spiral motion; in the story it describes the violent rotating movement of Farquhar's body as he falls from the bridge into the water.

verb · Chapter 3

oscillation

A regular back-and-forth or swinging movement; in this text it describes the pendulum-like swaying of the hanged body, though Farquhar imagines it as part of his fall through water.

noun · Chapter 3

swung

Moved back and forth in a smooth arc while suspended from above; in the final sentence this word confirms the body is hanging from the bridge, not swimming to safety.

verb · Chapter 3

timbers

The large, heavy wooden beams that form the structural frame and supports of a bridge; the word emphasizes the solid, constructed nature of the bridge as opposed to the planking on top.

noun · Chapter 3