Unit 1 Sem 1 Alternate Exam

The story is told from which point of view?

• The third-person limited point of view allows the narrator to describe the setting and events from a distance.

• omniscient view of the author

• second person point of view places the reader alongside the narrator in the tale of horror.

• The first-person point of view limits the narrative to what the narrator knows and senses, thus increasing the fear and suspense.

The narrator in "The Pit and the Pendulum" examines his surroundings by

• lighting a match so that he can see

• feeling his way around the cell

• running around the chamber

• yelling to hear echoes

What aspect of Poe's style helps you understand the narrator's feelings in the following sentence: "I had been reserved for the latter. By long suffering my nerves had been unstrung, until I trembled at the sound of my own voice, and had become in every respect a fitting subject for the species of torture which awaited me."

• repeated words

• italicized words

• grotesque images

• first-person point of view

In "The Pit and the Pendulum," why do the torturers put out food and water when the narrator first succumbs to fatigue?

• to poison the narrator

• to prolong the torture

• to elicit a confession

• to comply with the law

When the narrator is sentenced to die, the authorities provide him with food and water because they

• feel sorry for him

• always feed their prisoners until the end

• left the food there by mistake

• plan more punishments before he dies

Which of the following is NOT a feature of the prison cell in which the story is set?

• a circular pit

• stone masonry and metal plates

• barred windows

• paintings of demons, skeletons, and other frightening figures

Where is the story set?

• Rome, Italy

• Paris, France

• Toledo, Spain

• Chicago, Illinois

How does the narrator free himself from his bindings?

• waits until the pendulum cuts the bonds and quickly rolls out of the way

• screams and screams until they release him

• pays a great deal of money and is released

• smears meat on the bonds that hold him, and the rats chew through them

At the end of the story, the

• narrator plunges to his death in the pit

• inquisitors release him because he is really innocent

• narrator is saved from the pit by a French general

• prison burns, and in the turmoil the prisoner is able to escape

What is the mood of the story?

• fun and lively

• serious and boring

• suspenseful, mysterious, and horrifying

• optimistic and hopeful