Skip to main content

In "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe, why is the narrator afraid to open his eyes when he awakes to find himself on his back with no...

The narrator is afraid because he does not know where he is. 


"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a chilling horror story of a man who is the victim of the Spanish Inquisition.  He has been condemned to death, but he has no idea how he will be killed.  The terror of not knowing what is happening or going to happen consumes the narrator. 


Since his capture, the narrator keeps fainting and waking up. ...

The narrator is afraid because he does not know where he is. 


"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a chilling horror story of a man who is the victim of the Spanish Inquisition.  He has been condemned to death, but he has no idea how he will be killed.  The terror of not knowing what is happening or going to happen consumes the narrator. 


Since his capture, the narrator keeps fainting and waking up.  When he wakes up, he is afraid to look around him.  He does not know what he will find, and he does not want to find out.  If he opens his eyes, everything will become more real. 



There I suffered it to remain for many minutes, while I strove to imagine where and what I could be.  I longed, yet dared not to employ my vision.  I dreaded the first glance at objects around me.  It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. 



When he does open his eyes, he does not feel any relief.  The room is so dark that, even with his eyes open, he gets no answers.  The narrator finds this frightening, too:



The blackness of eternal night encompassed me. I struggled for breath. The intensity of the darkness seemed to oppress and stifle me. The atmosphere was intolerably close. I still lay quietly, and made effort to exercise my reason.  



Eventually, the narrator realizes the pendulum is swinging toward him and will eventually cut him in half, so his situation will not really improve.  Sometimes knowing does not help.  Even though the narrator knows there is a pendulum, he does not know when it will finally kill him.  It is a terrible torture, actually.  He has to lay there for days, and he knows not how long, waiting for death.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is hyperbole in the story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his... The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him plu
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some literary devices in Macbeth, Act V, Scene 1?

Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not... Act V, Scene i of Macbeth certainly continues the imagery that is prevalent in the play with its phantasmagoric realm, as in this scene a succession of things are seen or imagined by Lady Macbeth. Imagery - The representation of sensory experience Lady Macbeth imagines that she sees bloody spots (visual imagery) on the stairs; she also smells blood (olfactory imagery): Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! oh, oh! (5.1.53-55) Hyperbole - Obvious exaggeration  There is also h
Post a Comment
Read more

How can I analyze Moon and Six Pence by Somerset Maugham?

In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of... In "Moon and Sixpence," loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, Maugham presents a study of the tension between the "civilized" life of 19th century Europe, and the lead character's desire to throw off the shackles of bourgeois life. Charles Strickland is a middle-aged English stockbroker with a wife and family. By abandoning his domestic life, Strickland commits what many in European society would consider a gross betrayal of one of the foundations of that society. His decision to e
Post a Comment
Read more