7th grade Homeschooling:The Pit and the Pendulum (Week 14)

Just when we were getting back into our groove post  Christmas/New years, next week is our Chinese New Year holiday, and a much longer break. So she will finish her Mandarin book, continue on her online algerbra course and Science, and review Spanish and History. Finally, she'll read another Poe short story.

Math: Algebraic Expressions Lessons 4 -7, Test

Science: Chapter 8, Lesson 3: Middle and Recent Earth History

(pdf pg.109, Quizlet, Extra Reading: Science Daily, Khan PPT)

History Review: A Young Person’s History Chapter 5, “Revolution”

(handout)

Spanish Review:  COLORES, ¿CÓMO ESTÁS? , COSAS DEL COLEGIO,

Numeros 1-12 , LAS FRUTAS  To Be/To Have, Numeros 13-20, Food,

Colores, Las Frutas,

 

Reading: The Pit and the Pendulum (Poe) Genre: Dark Romanticism, Gothic Horror

Pre  Reading: The Spanish Inquisition, Vocabulary, study guide

“The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story of horror that uses

detailed sensory imagery in order to instill fear and horror in the reader. The story

delves into the very basic human fear of torture, and because of the time period in

which it takes place (the Spanish Inquisition), it is also a fear of torture due to

religious intolerance.

Poe uses the classic characteristics of his usual Gothic genre flair, including a bleak location, an impending threat of violence, a character in physical and psychological torment, and a seemingly otherworldly element in charge of the plot. These elements combined with the characters’ realization of his impending doom by either a razor-sharp pendulum or a cavernous abyss create yet another Poe-ian world of despair, fear, and a yearn for redemption. Poe explores various themes along the way, including fear, intolerance and injustice, and the power of despair.

Review Plot Structure, plot diagram

1. What is the theme of the story?
2. What are 3 literary conflicts? Man vs.____, Man vs.____, and Man vs____
3. Why is the Spanish Inquisition a good time setting for this short story?
4. How does the narrator react to his sentencing?
5. Is the narrator reliable? Why?
6. How does the dungeon setting change over the course of the story?
7. Why do you think the author chose to manipulate the dungeon?
8. What are the symbolic meanings of the following:

•  The cell
• The pit
• rats
• Pendulum (scythe)
• the angelic forms of the Inquisitorial tribune