Science: Chapter 8, Lesson 3: Middle and Recent Earth History
History Review: A Young Person’s History Chapter 5, “Revolution”
“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.
- What is the theme of the story?
- What are 3 literary conflicts? Man vs.____, Man vs.____, and Man vs____
- Why is the Spanish Inquisition a good time setting for this short story?
- How does the narrator react to his sentencing?
- Is the narrator reliable? Why?
- How does the dungeon setting change over the course of the story?
- Why do you think the author chose to manipulate the dungeon?
- What are the symbolic meanings of the following:
- The cell
- The pit
- rats
- Pendulum (scythe)
- the angelic forms of the Inquisitorial tribune
