Theme & Meaning
What main emotion does the story focus on?
Fear
Where does the most of the story take place?
A dark prison room.
What is the first thing that almost kills the narrator?
Falling into the pit.
What does the pendulum represent?
Time slowly running out.
What is the story's genre?
Horror
What theme is shown through the narrator not giving up?
Survival
What dangerous feature is hidden in the center of the room?
A deep pit.
What swings slowly down toward the narrator?
A sharp pendulum.
What does the pit represent?
Sudden danger and death
Who wrote the Pit and the Pendulum?
Edgar Allan Poe.
What does the story say is sometimes worse than physical pain?
What is the narrator's first impression when he wakes up?
Total darkness.
What animal helps him escape the straps?
Rats
What does the darkness in the cell symbolize?
Fear and confusion.
What object is the narrator tied to during the pendulum scene?
A wooden board.
What does the narrator's rescue at the end show?
Hope can appear even at the last moment.
What happens to the walls near the end of the story?
They heat up and move inward.
He puts food on the straps.
What do the rats symbolize?
Unexpected help.
What sense does the narrator rely on most when he cannot see?
Touch
What is one message Poe suggests about humans?
Humans fight to live, even in extreme danger
His sense of touch.
What final danger is he facing right before his rescue?
The walls push him toward the pit.
What do the closing walls symbolize?
Being trapped with no escape.
Who saves the narrator at the exact end?
General Lasalle and his army.