The Pit and the Pendulum Questions – Flashcards
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What is the setting of the story?
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During the Spanish inquisition in Toledo, Spain
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What POV is the story written?
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1st person POV
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What type of judgment was the narrator sentenced to in the beginning of the story?
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He was sentenced to death
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Describe the appearance of the judges. What figure do they remind you of?
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They were black robed, pale white, and thin. The grim reaper.
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How many candles were on the table? How were they described? Why do you think Poe used this number?
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7. At first they were white slender Angels, but then they were meaningless spectators and they disappeared. 7 deadly sins
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What were the two stages the narrator goes through when he returns from the swoon?
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Return mentally/ spiritually Return physically
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What did the narrator dread most when he opened his eyes?
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Not seeing anything. Being in darkness. Buried alive.
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According to the narrator, what would be the most "hideous of fates"
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To be buried alive bc it was Poe's biggest fear.
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What type of death do the judges have in mind for the narrator?
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A slow painful death by torture
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Describe the place the narrator was held captive
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It was dark with stone walls. It was cold and damp and slimy
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What did the narrator hope to find in his pocket? What was he going to do with it?
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His knife, and he was going to mark his spot in the wall in order to see how large the room was.
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What was the narrator wearing?
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A wrapper of coarse serge (burlap)
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How did the narrator use his clothing?
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He tore a piece of cloth and used it to mark his place on the wall so he could see how large the room was.
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How large did the narrator presume the room to be? How did he measure the room in darkness?
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50 yards he groped the wall and counted his paces until he returned to the piece of cloth to find the circumference of the room
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Where did the narrator almost fall?
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Into the pit
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According to the story, what do you think the narrator means by "hideous moral horrors"
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Torture
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Why didn't the narrator jump into the pit?
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He was a coward
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What did the narrator suspect after he drank the vessel empty?
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It was drugged
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When the dungeon is illuminated, what does the narrator discover? What images does the narrator see?
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He overestimated the size of the room. He sees the pit, torture devices, painted figures of demons and skeletons, Father Time with a pendulum.
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What was the shape of the dungeon
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Square
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What happened to the narrator during his slumber? Where was he and under what circumstances?
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He was strapped down to a wooden frame with only the mobility of his left arm up to his elbow and head. There was a pendulum swinging above his heart.
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What was the narrator given to eat?
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A plate of seasoned meat without water
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What painted figure did the narrator see on one of the panels? What could this symbol represent about his predicament?
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Father Time. It could symbolize how he is running out of time and coming to his death
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What animals were running all over the floors? Why were they attracted to the narrator?
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Rats. The meat.
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Which of the five senses does the narrator use to describe the closeness of the pendulum
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Smell, sight
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What does the pendulum do to the narrator?
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It breathes its acrid breath on him
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What desperate plan does the narrator come up with to save his life?
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He is going to break the bandage by the rats eating it in order to break free
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Does the pendulum ever strike the narrator
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Yes, it Knicks him just as he escapes
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What happened to the pendulum after he freed himself? What does the narrator realize? Is he really free?
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It stops and retracts. He is being watched. No, he is still trapped.
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After the narrator escaped the pendulum, which obstacle did he encounter next?
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The walls were closing in and he had to face the pit
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Where was the pendulum positioned
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Over the narrator's heart
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How did the judges think the narrator would escape his final obstacle?
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By plunging into the pit
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Who finally rescues the narrator?
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General lasalle
