N/A — Exam

Question 18 • Literature and Composition III

Which excerpt from "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" best supports the theme that a person cannot escape reality through fantasy?

Answer

The water, the banks, the forests, the now distant bridge, fort and men—all were commingled and blurred.

Doubtless, despite his suffering, he had fallen asleep while walking, for now he sees another scene—perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium.

Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.

A strange, roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks and the wind made in their branches the music of Aeolian harps.

Explanation

The theme is that fantasy cannot ultimately shield someone from reality. Choice C states the reality Peyton Farquhar has been trying to escape: he is dead, and his body is hanging beneath the bridge. The other excerpts describe his imagined experience or sensory perceptions, rather than revealing the final truth.

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