Student Question
How does Poe's use of first person point of view heighten the horror in "The Pit and the Pendulum"?
Quick answer:
Poe's use of first-person point of view in "The Pit and the Pendulum" heightens the horror by immersing the reader directly into the narrator's experiences. This perspective lends credibility to the terrifying events of imprisonment and torture, making them feel more immediate and real. The reader becomes a participant in the narrator's ordeal, sharing his fears and perceptions, which intensifies the suspense and emotional impact of the story.
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. I brought to mind the inquisitorial proceedings, and attempted from that point to deduce my real condition.
The first person, unnamed, narrator in Poe’s "The Pit and the Pendulum" heightens the horror of the story by adding to the story's validity. Even as the narrator tells his seemingly implausible story of imprisonment, torture, and rescue, the use of the first person adds to the story by allowing the reader to go through the trial and imagine life in the prison through his eyes. Just as if you hear a story first hand from a friend, the reader to gets the story directly from the man himself. In short, the first person narrator allows the reader to imagine they are in on the story from the survivor of the horrific tale.
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