Transcript Ain’t I a Woman? By Sojourner Truth

An Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge
By Ambrose Bierce
English III
C. Edge
CHS
Reading Focus # 1
• How do Peyton Farquhar’s political beliefs
put him in jeopardy?
• He does dangerous things to help the
secessionist cause.
Reading Focus # 2
• Summarize in one sentence what
Farquhar imagines in Part III.
• He imagines the rope breaks; he escapes
the soldiers and goes home to his wife and
children.
Reading Focus # 3
• What observation about the fundamental
nature of war does Bierce make through
the story of Peyton Farquhar?
• The story shows us that war is brutal and
senseless.
Reading Focus # 4
• As you read, you examined the sequence
of events and point of view. Review your
chart. Add another column, and explain
how the pint of view Bierce uses in each
part of the story is effective. Think about
how point of view complements the event
being described.
Literary Focus, # 5
• Analyze. Bierce does not tell the story in
chronological order. How might the story’s
impact be different if the events were
revealed in order?
• The story wouldn’t be as effective or
suspenseful because the readers would
know from the very outset that Farquhar
was indeed hanged.
Literary Focus, # 6
• Interpret. Giving examples, explain how the
events in Part III parallel what is really going on.
• He is exhausted, is lost, and sees and hears
things that are not there. The blow on the back
of his neck that he experienced in his dream
coincided with his being hanged from the bridge
and his neck breaking.
Literary Focus, # 7
• Evaluate. Many readers find the story’s
conclusion powerful, but some argue that
the ending is nothing more than a gimmick
and cheats the reader. What do you
think?
• It is powerful because just when the
reader thinks Farquhar might be safe, he
is in reality hanged.
Literary Focus, # 8
Literary Focus, # 9
• Analyze. How does Bierce’s use of point of view
help you understand the mind of Peyton
Farquhar? How does it contribute to the
effectiveness of the surprise ending?
• Bierce’s use of point of view makes us feel
empathy. It makes us identify Peyton Farquhar
as a man dedicated to the Southern cause and
also as someone who was emotionally attached
to his family. This point of view contributes to
the ending by making it more emotional.
Literary Focus, # 10