1. In Part 1, Bierce includes few details about the condemned man and does not reveal the reason why he is being hanged. How does this help create suspense?
This creates suspense since there is a man that appears to honest and hard working and you find out he is about to be hanged. This makes you wander if it could be a mistake or what he could have done to deserve to be killed.
2. In what ways are the condemned man�s perceptions of time and motion distorted as he is waiting to be hanged? Why are his distorted perceptions important?
The time is slowed way down as most of the story is tolled in a few seconds. His distorted perceptions are important since it creates the story and has the rising action and all the information about the story.
3. What seems to be the narrator�s attitude toward Farquhar in Part II? What is the narrator�s attitude toward war?
The narrarators attitude toward farquhar was him being a plantation owner with a family that wants to be involved in the war and help in it.The narrator was trying to say that everything is fair in love and war.
4. Considering the outcome of the story, what is ironic or surprising about Farquhar�s longing for the �larger life of a soldier?� What is ironic about the fact that Farquhar agrees with the saying that �all is fair in love and war?�
He wanted to live the life a soldier and as he tries to become a soldier, when he attempts to burn the bridge down he is unsuccessfully and is seen as a trader in the confederates eyes.
5. What details in Part III suggests that Farquhar�s journey occurs in his mind? How is the journey connected with the plan of escape that occurs to him moments before he is hanged?
His ability to hear tiny bugs from far away like the spiders and mosquitoes. This is connected since this is what he wanted to happen even though this though hoping the rope would brake is unrealistic.
6. Explain whether you think the portrayal of Farquhar�s final thoughts and sensations is realistic.
I think that it is realistic since I have had many things flash before my life when I get hurt and I thought thousands of things like Farquhar.
7. Point of view refers to the vantage point from which the story is told. Why is the limited third-person point of view appropriate for this story? How might the story be different if Bierce had used an omniscient third-person narrator?
Since knowing too much would ruin the suspense of the story and make you not want to finish it. This would make the story very short and not exciting.
8. How does Bierce�s use of flashback contribute to the effectiveness of the story?
It makes the story more exciting and gives it more suspense, which is always a good thing to have in a story.