Question

Read this excerpt from “The Pit and The Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe.

At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me.

How does the first-person point of view most affect the meaning of the text?

A. It demonstrates the narrator's confusion over the reality of his situation and suggests to the reader that the narrator is unreliable.

B. It shows the narrator to be unflappable and strong despite the danger, and it forces the reader to admire him.

C. It explains exactly how the narrator feels about the pitch dark, and it allows the reader to share that fear.

D. It provides insight into the narrator’s deep fear of the dark and shows his great capacity to overcome that fear.

Answer 1

@Elsa213

Answer 2

What do you believe the correct answer is?

Answer 3

Take a guess if you're not sure.

Answer 4

A and B seem incorrect.

Answer 5

@mikewwe13

Answer 6

it's D

Answer 7

I agree. c:

Answer 8

WHAT ABOUT C?

Answer 9

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Read this excerpt from “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe.

There was a discordant hum of human voices! There was a loud blast as of many trumpets! There was a harsh grating as of a thousand thunders! The fiery walls rushed back! An outstretched arm caught my own as I fell, fainting, into the abyss.

How does the pacing of this passage most affect the story?


A. It creates the panicked and terrified atmosphere of the narrator's final moments alive.

B. It highlights the narrator's disturbed thoughts and weakened state.

C. It highlights the narrator's defiance and anger as he meets his awful fate.

D. It creates the frantic and frenzied atmosphere of the narrator's climactic rescue.

Answer 10

Wait...
I believe it's C.
It doesn't show any clues where he overcomes that fear.

Answer 11

^ first question.

Answer 12

I believe the correct answer to the second question is D.

Answer 13

Read the passage.

excerpt from “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe

Down—steadily down it crept. I took a frenzied pleasure in contrasting its downward with its lateral velocity. To the right—to the left—far and wide—with the shriek of a damned spirit; to my heart with the stealthy pace of the tiger!...

Down—certainly, relentlessly down! It vibrated within three inches of my bosom! I struggled violently, furiously, to free my left arm. This was free only from the elbow to the hand. I could reach the latter, from the platter beside me, to my mouth, with great effort, but no farther. …

Down—still unceasingly—still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration. I shrunk convulsively at its every sweep. My eyes followed its outward or upward whirls with the eagerness of the most unmeaning despair; they closed themselves spasmodically at the descent, although death would have been a relief, oh! how unspeakable!



How does the author create suspense in this excerpt?


A. The author foreshadows the coming gruesome death of the prisoner.


B. The author uses this account to end the story with a cliff-hanger.


C. The author reveals details about the measurements the prisoner calculated.


D. The author repeats the word down to show the slow descent of the pendulum.

Answer 14

Probably D. e.e

Answer 15

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

In “The Pit and the Pendulum,” the narrator explains, "I proceeded for many paces; but still all was blackness and vacancy."

How does Poe's inclusion of this description affect the story?


A. It contributes to the story's rather serene mood by describing the peaceful emptiness of the environment.

B. It creates dark humor by making readers imagine how foolish the narrator must look in this situation.

C. It increases the suspense by maintaining the narrator's sense of displacement and uncertainty.

D. It adds mystery to the tale by subtly suggesting that the narrator has something to hide.

Answer 16

What do you believe the answer is?

Answer 17

C

Answer 18

I agree.

Answer 19

How does the first-person point of view affect “The Pit and the Pendulum”?


A. It enables the reader to learn more about the Inquisition, the political power that has unjustly imprisoned the narrator.


B. It explicitly describes the narrator's joy when he is saved by the French general at the end.


C. Because it shows only what the narrator knows at any given point, it increases suspense and tension.


D. It helps the reader try to find a way out for the narrator from a number of different angles.

Answer 20

i think the answe is A

Answer 21

@kittybasil What do you think? o:

Answer 22

A? I'm not so sure about that...

Any other ideas?

Answer 23

The first-person point of view would be very biased, so we might not have an accurate idea of the "Inquisition" @mikewwe13

Answer 24

The question is asking what effect the first-person perspective has on your reading of the story.
Examples: How do you feel when reading it? What do you perceive?