© 2014 Shmoop University, Inc. All rights reserved.   In "The
Pit and the Pendulum," Death is on the narrator's mind from the
very first line, right up until the final moment. The strange
thing is, for a story that's as morbid as can be, it ends with
<em>life</em>. Of course, we realize that the narrator obviously
has to live in order for him to tell us how he <em>almost</em>
died. Thus, in giving his character life, Poe is able to make us
ponder death. Very cool. What do you think: can a story in which
no one dies really be about death?  Questions About Death    1.
For our narrator, death isn't a simple thing; what are the
different ways he describes the process of death and dying?   2.
Why are the inquisitors so interested in killing the narrator in
such strange ways? Wouldn't they be happy just to have him dead?
3. What do our narrator's "near-death" experiences teach him
about the nature of death?  Chew on This   "The Pit and the
Pendulum" is, when you get down to it, an examination of death
and dying –