Readon III B

THE PIT AND THE PENDOLUM and other stories
SUBGENRE: Fantasy and horror stories
SETTING: A prison in Toledo, many places for the other stories
CHARACTERS: An imprisoned man, Fortunado, Amantillado, Marchesa, Mentori family
SITUATION: 1 - The prison thinks that he is in a tomb, but he discovers that he is in a cell. He explores the cell but in a moment he falls in a pit in the centre of the room and he loses consciouness. After that, he finds that he is bound to a wooden board by ropes. He looks up in horror and he sees and enormous scythe-lite pendolum. Because of this, he moves from to the pit and falls into it. At the end, the French Army takes Toledo and The Inquisition.
2 - The story begins with Montresor, the narrator, who explains the reason of the crime. According to Montresor, Fortunado, the victim, has committed injuries. They make their way into Montresor's family catacombs. The nitre lined walls make Fortunado caughs so Montresor encourages him to go on for sake. Then they go home.
3 - The book starts with the arrival of the narrator in a black castle in which there are lots of pictures on the walls. The narrator takes interest in a painting of a young beautiful girl in an oval frame. At this point the narrator tells the story of that girl.
PERSONAL COMMENT: I liked this book because I like horror stories. Personally, I liked the second story very much because it speaks about the theme of liberty and personal freedom. It also speaks about solidarity, an important theme.
Serena Mannarella