Who saves the prisoner in The Pit and the Pendulum?
narrator
How was the narrator freed in The Pit and the Pendulum?
Drawn by the food, the rats climb on top of the narrator and chew through the strap. As the pendulum nears his heart, the narrator breaks through the strap and escapes from the pendulum’s swing. The narrator realizes that the enclosing walls will force him into the pit, an escape that will also mean his death.
How is the narrator saved at the end of the story The Pit and the Pendulum?
Poe’s narrator is saved at the end, dramatically, by “an outstretched arm” that grabs him just as he is about to be forced into the pit. The story ends with a reference to “General LaSalle“ having entered Toledo; LaSalle was one of Napoleon’s generals during the Peninsular War in Spain.
What is the symbolic meaning of the pit and the pendulum?
The success of the story comes from its ability to access one fundamental human quality: fear. The chamber itself is made to induce fear; the slow descent of the pendulum creates both psychological suspense and mortal terror; and the pit represents the final decision: death, the ultimate fear.
What do the pendulum the rat and the cell symbolize in the story?
Three major factors that incite terror in the narrator—the pit, the pendulum, and the cell itself—are in themselves potent symbols. All can be seen as frightening aspects of human life. On a literal level, these are humankind’s threatening environment, the inevitability of death, and death itself.
What do the candles represent in The Pit and the Pendulum?
Candles: Represent the judges and time; they turned from symbols of angels to “meaningless spectres” that will burn down as does any hope of escape or survival from the torture chamber.
What is the role of history in The Pit and the Pendulum?
Historical Unreliability in “The Pit and the Pendulum”: Although Poe wrote “The Pit and the Pendulum” in 1842, the story takes place during the height of the Spanish Inquisition, implemented during the 15th through the 17th century to destroy heresy in order to promote and maintain Catholic Orthodoxy throughout Spain …
What did the narrator dread most when he opened his eyes?
What did the narrator dread most when he opened his eyes? Not seeing anything. To be buried alive bc it was Poe’s biggest fear.
When the narrator awoke from his first nap in the Chamber what did he find beside him?
When he wakes up, after who knows how long, the narrator finds a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water next to him.
What kind of death does he associate with the pit?
4a. What kind of death does he associate with the pit? He associates death of hideous moral horrors like hell.