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 part of the story and the details about the condemned man helps create suspense because the reader is going to want to find out what happens next, and why he is being hanged. The author offers some details but he holds back the major details.
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?
His perceptions of time and motion are distorted as he is waiting to be hung because he is thinking of everything that means something to him or maybe what he wishes would happen. Time is being slowed down, the watch slows down which is a sign of the time slowing. His distorted perceptions are important because they give us clues that it is not actually happening, and that he is not actually escaping.
3. What seems to be the narrator�s attitude toward Farquhar in Part II? What is the narrator�s attitude toward war?
His attitude towards him is that he is patriotic and stupid. He is gullible and falls for the trick that the federal scout plays on him. He wants to be a confederate soldier, he thinks that the life of a soldier is great but in real life he is just a farmer. War is brutal and the author knows that.
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?� Farquhar thinks that the life of a soldier is great, he thinks that he is going to be a great soldier but as soon as he tries to do something soldierly he gets hug. He thinks that all is fair in love and war and in the story the soldier tricks him which is ironic.
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?
Some of the details that suggest that the journey occurs in his mind are that his senses are too good. As he is running his neck aches terribly, he cannot feel the ground, his heart feels like its going to come out of his mouth, he�s spinning around in the water, but really he is spinning on the rope. He thinks of his wife and escaping before he drops and that�s what he is thinking about when he is hanging also.
6. Explain whether you think the portrayal of Farquhar�s final thoughts and sensations is realistic.
I think that is it terribly unrealistic because there are like 30 soldiers and they are all shooting at him and they are all missing. He is swimming and looking backward at the same time. When reading the story I did think that he was escaping but I was not paying attention to the details.
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?
If the author would have used the point of view of a soldier then you wouldn�t have the part of the story where he is escaping because everything except him hanging by the neck is in Farquhar�s head.
8. How does Bierce�s use of flashback contribute to the effectiveness of the story?
It builds suspense and character.