Classwork/homework

Classwork
1. Academic Vocabulary
2. Introduced the Spanish Inquisition
3. Began reading "The Pit and the Pendulum"

Homework
1. Finish reading "The Pit and the Pendulum"
2. Answer questions 2,3,4 on page 269

-Read the following link to help you answer question #3 http://www.ehow.com/how_2095782_understand-symbolism-literature.html

For those of you that still do not have a copy of the textbook in your house, the questions are as follows:
2. The setting of this story may be its most unforgettable element. List at least six of its horrible details. Did any of these horrors tap into the fear you described in your homework.
3. Some critics read Poe's text symbollically, as the story of a man who dies and almost loses his soul in the pit of hell but is saved at the end by God. See if the story works with this symbolic interpretation.
- What could the pit symbolize?
- What does a pendulum suggest to you, and what does an old man with a scythe represent? What connection might there be between these two symbols and the scythe on the pendulum iin Poe's story?
- Rats are often used as a symbol of death and decay. How does the prisoner's response to these rats- especially when they crawl over him- suggest that he might see them this way?
- What sounds are usually associated with Judgement Day, at the end of the world? Do you hear these sounds at the story's end?
4. Stories of imprisonment and torture often explore themes of power and its abuse. What comment do you think Poe may be making about the political, religious, and social situation in the historical period in which this story takes place?

If you do not have a textbook you may also need the text so here it is

http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/pit-and-pendulum.html