The Pit and the Pendulum Group

Question:


fot
Student
College - Junior

Why does Edgar Allan Poe choose to see inside his narrator's mind in "The Pit and the Pendulum"?

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Posted by fot on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 10:27 AM and tagged with characters, narrator, point of view, style, the pit and the pendulum.

Answers:


  1. jennyrocks Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Poe goes into the narrator's mind and feelings in almost all of his writings. He was not one to necessarily focus on setting or other outside factors because he wanted the reader to really focus on the characters and their development, problems, and solutions. In The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator is locked away in a dungeon after being sentenced by the Spanish Inquisition. At the beginning of the story, the narrator awakens in complete darkness. He cant see his surroundings so all we can know is the narrators thoughts and feelings. The narrator knows he is going to be killed, but he just doesn't know when. He is constantly fighting to save his life so by going into his mind, we have a better understanding of what he is going through instead of just speculating what he is thinking and how he will get out of the next problem.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/pit-pendulum-salem/pit-pendulum
    http://www.enotes.com/pit-pendulum/psychoanalysis-narrato...

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    Posted by jennyrocks on Wednesday December 10, 2008 at 8:03 PM