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 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.
Who rescues the narrator in the pit and 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.
How does the prisoner in The Pit and the Pendulum free himself?
The narrator realizes that there are now rats coming out of the center pit and decides to rub the meat on the ropes that are securing him to the frame. The rats eventually eat through the rope, and the narrator becomes free.
What is the climax of the pit and pendulum?
The climax of “The Pit and the Pendulum” occurs when the walls close in on the narrator, then retract just as a hand reaches out to save him from falling into the pit .
What is the pit symbolic of?
The pit is a symbol of suffering and, even more clearly, of death . At one point he actually calls it a symbol of hell. ... This is not only because it threatens destruction, but also because its true nature and what might happen once one falls into it is unknowable.
How did the narrator escape from snake grip?
He prayed to God to save him. It appeared as if God had heard his prayer. The snake turned its head and looked into the mirror. ... Then he ran out of the house and escaped form the snake grip.
What unfortunate event saved the narrator from falling into the pit?
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.
How many efforts did the narrator make in water?
Answer: The narrator employed two crewmen —American Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler in order to help them tackle the southern Indian Ocean which is known as one of the roughest seas of the world.
How did the narrator discover the pit?
How did the narrator discover the pit? After he woke up he tried to explore the cell and hit his chin on the side of pit. He had fallen into the pit . The general shape of the prison cell was questionable.
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.
What does the end of the pit and the pendulum mean?
Having caught himself at the edge of the pit and having triumphed over Father Time and his razor-sharp pendulum – having survived, in short, two life-or-death predicaments – our narrator is then put in what you might call a “death or death” situation. Death by pit or death by burning walls.
What are symbols in pit and pendulum?
Symbols of Terror: Poe’s use of various symbols demonstrates the violence and terror imposed by the Spanish Inquisition: the extinguished white candles demonstrate hopelessness; the grotesque and terrifying pendulum represents the unceasing passage of time; the steaming, glowing pit symbolizes hell ; the moving wall ...
What is one conflict in pit and pendulum?
The main conflict is that the narrator is being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition . His inquisitors are playing a cat-and-mouse game with him in which he is near the brink of some horrible fate, but then he gets a sudden reprieve, only to find himself in the middle of an even more horrible torture.
What was in the pit in 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.
Who is the king of terrors pit and pendulum?
In an allusion the biblical book of Job 18:14, the narrator describes death as the “King of Terrors.” Like Job, who endures undeserved physical and mental torment, the narrator suffers plight after plight in order to evade death and survive the Spanish Inquisition.
