Read the excerpt from "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." He unclosed his eyes and saw again the water below him. “If I could free my hands,” he thought, “I might throw off the noose and spring into the stream. By diving I could evade the bullets and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to the woods and get away home. My home, thank God, is as yet outside their lines; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invader’s farthest advance.” What theme does the motif of hands represent in the excerpt and throughout the story?

After reading the excerpt from the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," we can choose the following answer concerning the motif of hands in the story:

B) Hands represent the perpetual struggle against fate.

What is motif:

Motif is a symbolic image or idea that appears often in a story. A single story may contain several motifs.

The motif of hands in the story:

Farquhar is the main character in the story, and his hands are often mentioned throughout the plot. They are tied behind his back, and he is about to be hanged for treason.

His hands being tied and his wish to free them represent the perpetual struggle against fate. Farquhar's fate is death, represented by the tied hands. His wish to fight that fate and keep on living would be the freeing of his hands.

With the information above in mind, we can choose letter B as the best option.

The missing answer choices are the following:

A) Hands represent the indistinct line between dreams and reality.

B) Hands represent the perpetual struggle against fate.

C) Hands represent the idea of justice.

D) Hands represent the importance of love and family.

Learn more about motif here:

https://brainly.com/question/1374432