an occurrence at owl creek bridge annotated

The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels or trains will be summarily hanged. They have reached the Owl Creek bridge, put it in order and built a stockade on the north bank. “The Yanks are repairing the railroads,” said the man, “and are getting ready for another advance. While she was fetching the water her husband approached the dusty horseman and inquired eagerly for news from the front. Farquhar was only toe, happy to serve him with her own white hands. One evening while Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the entrance to his grounds, a gray-clad soldier rode up to the gate and asked for a drink of water. No service was too humble for him to perform in aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war. That opportunity, he felt, would come, as it comes to all in war time. Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction. Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause. Peyton Farquhar was a well-to-do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family. Follow your in-class notes, your notes on narratives, or your own interpretation of the text to leave thoughtful comments. This story also touches on the essential questions from earlier in the year.Ĭontinue reading below for Part II of the story, which we have discussed in class.We are reading this story as part of our study of this set of essential questions.There are rules for adversarial discussions, and you’ve been given an annotated copy of a scored discussion to help you earn points.

Each time we finish a section of the story in class, that section will be posted online for you to discuss it for more adversarial points. This is the online component for “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” the full text of which you can find here.

An occurrence at owl creek bridge annotated