You're sure to get at least one of those comments when you trot this one out. For whatever reason, lots of students detest detailed descriptive paragraphs—and this story is full of them, from start to finish. And let's be honest: if you were a 16-year-old starting this story late at night after getting home from soccer practice and doing two hours of math, science, and history homework (because everyone saves English, which is the best, for last, right?), you'd probably have a hard time keeping your eyes open, too. So don't assign this as homework. It's a short story, it can be read in one sitting, and if you do it aloud in class, you can stop every so often to make sure you haven't lost anybody.

Reading the story this way will also give you a great opportunity to turn those long passages of description from a liability (in the eyes of many students) into an asset. How cool is it that Bierce doesn't use the word "hanged" until the third paragraph, and yet we all have the picture perfectly in mind by then? (Answer: Very cool.) If you don't want to be the reader, no problem. Check out our Current Events & Pop Culture links for a pre-recorded option.