How did he escape 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.
What happens at the end of the pit and the pendulum?
Ostensibly, the ending occurs when the French army invades Toledo and the narrator is saved from tumbling into the deadly pit at the very last moment by General Lasalle, who catches him just as he is about to fall.
What does the pit represent in The Pit and the Pendulum?
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 saves the prisoner in The Pit and the Pendulum?
Also, when he woke to find himself tied down, he saved himself by spreading what was left of his food onto the ropes holding him down, thereby enticing the rats to eat through the ropes and help him free just before the pendulum could cut into him.
How does the beginning of the pit and the pendulum contribute to the meaning of the story?
The beginning of the story merely needs to establish the rationale, the antagonist, the inciting incident, and the mood so that the man’s emotional struggle for survival can begin. Having the man being sentenced to death at the beginning creates the rationale for the torture; the narrator knows his life is at stake.
How does the narrator of The Pit and the Pendulum display bravery while he is in the chamber?
The narrator’s bravery is displayed through his unwillingness to give up and in his refusal to panic. Throughout the story, the narrator brings to bear a cool and calculating logic. I still lay quietly, and made effort to exercise my reason. He knows that his situation is bad, but he never panics.
Why is the narrator of the pit and pendulum held captive?
The narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s story is being held captive and tortured by the Spanish Inquisition. As an arm of the Catholic Church, the Inquisition was primarily occupied with verifying the religious faith of Moors and Jews who claimed to have converted to Catholicism.