Question

Read the excerpt from section 3 of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."Overhead, as he looked up through this rift in the wood, shone great garden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations. He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance.How does the excerpt contribute to the theme of fate?

Answer 1

Answer:

The narrator develops Peyton Farquhar's fate through the stars.

Explanation:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek is a short story written by American author Ambrose Bierce, and it is the story of Peyton Farquhar and his very own death during American Civil War.

As known, Farquhar must die because he is caught in a trap set by a Union scout who tells him something related to the Owl Creek Bridge; on the other hand, Farquhar supported the Confederation.

In the excerpt, we can see how the narrator uses setting for foreshadowing Farquhar's fate: first of all, he looks up and finds the stars and constellations, that are organized where "a malign significance" could be understood, even if it is not totally accurate. However, as the story advances, readers can find what that significance is.