Overview
Edgar Allan Poe is best known as the author of numerous spine-tingling stories of horror and suspense. “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a classic […]
Month: January 2009
Themes and Characters
Although “The Pit and the Pendulum” focuses on a single character, the reader actually discovers very little about him. One does not know his name, […]
Literary Qualities
Although Poe often declared that the allegory was an inferior form of fiction, he comes close to creating an allegory in “The Pit and the […]
Social Sensitivity
Edgar Allan Poe is a writer often first discovered by readers when they are still adolescents. His stories are seemingly so simple, so direct and […]
Ideas and Topics for Papers
VII TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. The story never explains why the central character has been thrown into the pit. Why does Poe not inform the […]
Related Titles and Adaptations
“The Pit and the Pendulum” is typical of other Poe stories that present horrifying and extreme predicaments. In “A Descent into the Maelstrom” (1841) the […]
About the Author
John Steinbeck was the son of Olive Hamilton, a school teacher, and John Ernst Steinbeck, a flour-mill manager and Monterey County Treasurer. Like other families […]
Overview
Whether by prayer, quest, or contest, humans have long expressed their desire for wealth and dreams of a better life. Many are the tales about […]
Themes and Characters, Setting
Kino’s belief that evil is in the night is not unusual, but one of his many foibles is that he sees himself alone in a […]