Question

In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," Ambrose Bierce includes a flashback in Section II in order to

A: provide important background information and maintain reader suspense.
B: explain every detail of Peyton Farquhar's attempt to burn down the Owl Creek bridge.
C: resolve the conflict faced by Peyton Farquhar in Section I.
D: insert some much-needed humor into this rather serious short story.

Answer 1

The flashback in Section II of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" serves to provide important background information on Peyton Farquhar's character and to maintain suspense for the reader. The correct answer to the question is A.

Step-by-step explanation:

In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce, a flashback is used as a literary device to delve into the past of the main character, Peyton Farquhar. Section II of the story provides this flashback to give readers important background information about how Farquhar found himself in the predicament of being sentenced to hang from Owl Creek Bridge. The flashback serves to enrich the narrative by revealing Farquhar's history and motivations, which contribute to the drama and keep the readers engaged and suspenseful about the outcome of his fate.

The correct answer to the multiple-choice question is A: provide important background information and maintain reader suspense. The flashback is not primarily used to communicate every detail of Farquhar's sabotage attempt (option B), resolve the central conflict (option C), nor to inject humor into the story (option D).

Answer 2

In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", Ambrose Bierce includes a flashback in Section II in order to:

A) provide important background information and maintain reader suspense.

In Section I, no name was given about the character, only his present state and thinking was relayed. In Section II, the character was introduced as well as the event which the readers can infer as the cause of his situation stated in Section I.