What happened to the narrator 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 narrator do 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 was the narrator tortured in The Pit and the Pendulum?
They tie him to a board and slowly lower a swinging pendulum with a scythe, or long, curved blade, attached at the end. The narrator realizes that the blade will slowly, oh so slowly, slice through his chest. This tortures hiim psychologically–the entire way down, he has to sit there and imagine the coming pain.
What happens to the narrator at the end of the first paragraph in the pit and the pendulum?
At the end of the first paragraph, the narrator swoons. It means to faint, to lose consciousness, to pass out, and/or to black out. Having the narrator swoon at the end of the first paragraph makes perfect sense, because the narrator has just been sentenced to death.
Why was the narrator sentenced to death in the pit and the pendulum?
The unnamed narrator is sentenced to death for unspecified crimes by the Spanish Inquisition. After the sentence is passed on him, he begins to swoon and eventually loses consciousness.
What is the meaning of The Pit and the Pendulum?
Like many of Poe’s stories, “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a dramatic monologue. Sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition, the imprisoned narrator finds himself in absolute darkness, in danger of falling to his death into a pit in the centre of the cell.
How is the description or details of the cell important to the development of the story’s theme?
Answer: In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the author Edgar Allan Poe provides a slow and extremely detailed description of the prison cell where the narrator is forced to stay. Thus, the latter gives the full particulars and tortures that he is compelled to suffer, which helps build suspense.
How is the narrator finally saved at the end of the story?
Expert Answers 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.
How does the narrator feel about his fate?
He faces several different fates. At first, he is sentenced to “the dread sentence of death” and his reaction is brief (as he is drugged), but “dread” speaks it. When he comes to, he discovers himself in total blackness; his reaction is fear that he is in a tomb.
What best describes the mental state of the narrator at the beginning of the story?
When the story begins, the narrator’s state of mind is pretty poor. He feels “that [his] senses were leaving [him]” and he is filled with “dread” when he hears that he has been sentenced to death.
What does the narrator fear most and why?
The numerous fears to which he is exposed – including the dark, rats, claustrophobia, and death – create agony, but can all be overcome. Throughout the ordeal, the narrator is keenly aware that he is fighting against the clock, as we all are.
What is the narrator most afraid of?
The narrator himself refers to this–he mentions the “thousand vague rumors of the horrors of Toledo.” So, when he is tossed into a totally dark place, where he can’t see anything, where it is cold and damp, he is terrified that some scheme has been hatched against him.
What does the narrator fear?
What does the narrator fear? That he is going to get caught and that the officers hear the noises he is hearing.
What is the narrator afraid of in the Tell Tale Heart?
The narrator is afraid of being seen as mad or insane, but beneath that lies his almost unbearable fear of his own terrors. He projects them on to the old man: Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror.