EXEMPLAR SET #2
Response #1: A/92
Peyton Farquhar is portrayed as more sympathetic by the director of the film version of An Occurrance [sic]
at Owl Creek Bridge than he is by the author of the short story. The director chose to omit the detail of Farquhar
being a slave owner, one of the only traits to taint his character in the story. Without this being mentioned in the
movie, the audience has no grounds to question Farquhars [sic] morals as they might in the original. There is also a
disparity in appearance. Farquar [sic] in the short story had long, neat, dark hair and a goatee, whereas Farquhar in
the movie had short, somewhat curly brown hair and a beard. In Bierces [sic] short story, Farquhar seems to be
calm and in control, to a certain degree, as evidenced by his neat hair and clothes. This could alienate some readers,
whereas the man in the film is a bit more unkempt and obviously scared, highly relateable [sic] in his situation. On
the matter of facial hair, a goatee is distinctive, wheras [sic] beards are common. Farquhar in the movie could be
anyone. Through leaving out moral ambiguities and changing certain physical characteristics, the director of the
film has presented Peyton Farquhar as a more sympathetic character than in the story.
Response #2: B/84
Peyton Farquhar is portrayed as less sympathetic by the director of the film version of An Occurrence at
Owl Creek Bridge than he is by the author of the short story. Ambrose Bierce, the author of the short story really
gives good detail and uses descriptive language to his advantage in showing the reader how Peyton is treated, and
the emotions he feels. The reader gets a good sense of imagery by reading this story. Bierce really shows the reader
Peyton’s facial expressions of horror and pain, emotionally and physically. This writing paints a picture in the
readers’ minds of Peyton’s agony. How he is portrayed really causes a great deal of sympathy for Peyton, more so
than in the film. The film simple [sic] shows his face and creates the image for the reader, not allowing readers to
use their own imaginations of the horrified looks and feeling of Peyton. Also, the film shows Peyton at the end of the
“dream,” while in the story, Bierce states that he is hanged and killed, horrifying the reader in shock and pity for this
poor man. In addition to imagery, Ambrose Bierce’s use of characterization also causes readers to feel more
sympathy for Peyton than just watching the movie. The film version completely cuts out Part II, gives a possible sign
of why Peyton’s being hanged, and doesn’t give any idea of who this man was. The story, on the other hand, goes in
depth with analysis of Peyton’s life: a family oriented, average, and good man that worked hard. However, the
written Part II in the short story shows Peyton’s downfall and cruel trickery by the spy into getting Peyton hanged.
In summary, Ambrose Bierce’s excellent use of imagery and descriptive writing, and [sic] characterization causes the
reader to feel more sympathetic for Peyton Farquhar than in the film version of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
Response #3: C/70
Peyton Farqah [sic] is portrayed as more sympathetic by the director of the film version of An Occurence
[sic] at Owl Creek Bridge than he is by the author of the short story. One way Peyton seems he is [sic] more
sympathetic, [sic] is the fact that we have a visual of Peyton and all the soldiers around him. We get the sense of his
facial emotions and shows [sic] that he is scared and sad at the ame time. In the story, it is different because we have
to create the image in our head of what is happening and with that we can’t focus on the sympathy of Peyton.
Another thing is the picture of his family, [sic] it is different through the perspective of the director and mine. One
reason he is more sympathetic in the film rather than the story is that Pierce [sic] describes Peyton with many words
while in the movie there isn’t as much dialogue or even a narration. Hence Peyton Farquah [sic] is more sympathetic
in the movie rather than the story.
Response #4: D/64
Peyton Farquah [sic] is portrayed as more sympathetic by the director of the film version of An Occurence
[sic] at Owl Creek Bridge than he is by the author of the short story. Peyton seems more sympathetic because of his
body language you can see in the film. Before he is placed on the plank off the end of the bridge, he seems concerned
as to what is going to happen next, even though he knows he will die. Next, he is shown standing on the plank
observing possible “escape routes.” You, as an audiance [sic], can observe that he is nervous and scared and at one
point Peyton was crying. This is probably the most emotional scene because he realizes then that he is done for.
Another scene you may feel sympathy [sic] is right before the end of the movie. He is running across his yard to his
wife and he is so happy and excited. Payton [sic] is right there about to hug his wife when [sic] all of a sudden he is
in pain and collapses. The next scene they show is Paytons [sic] lifeless body hanging from Owl Creek Bridge.