Book report: the pit and the pendulum by edgar allan poe

Gabriel M. Ramirez 8 – Yellow Mrs. Czarina Rodriguez
Book Report: The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
I. Introduction:
Edgar Allan Poe is part of the Gothic literature movement.His story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, is an example of a Gothic story. That is said because it is a short story with all of the gothic story characteristics. These characteristics are that it looksat the ugly side of life, it is placed in a dark and frightening place, tries to play on paranoia and the dark side of the mind, and it is the negative side of American Romanticism. The followingreport is an analysis of the elements of the short story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”.
II. Setting:
The story takes place in Toledo, Spain. The protagonist is in a dungeon. The dungeon is where“The Pit and the Pendulum” is. The pit is a deep hole with water at the bottom; rats live in it. The pendulum is a scythe that hangs and moves from the ceiling in arch movements. It is aimed at theheart of the protagonist. The dungeon makes the protagonist feel paranoid, depressed, and confused.
III. Plot:
The protagonist is locked in a dungeon with walls of stone. He is drugged. The drugsmake him unconscious. While he is unconscious the walls are changed from stone to metal plates. When he wakes up he is tied to a board with his left hand free. The pendulum descends aiming at hisheart. The rats eat through the belt because he put food on it and he is free. The metal walls are flattening and are red-hot. He hears noises of battle and is saved by the French army.
IV.Point of View:
The story is narrated by the protagonist. This story is narrated in first person point of view because the protagonist is talking about what happened to him.
V. Characterization:The protagonist is the prisoner. The antagonist is the Spanish Inquisition. The judges change the protagonist life by sending him to a dungeon for something he did not do. The protagonist’s...