Final answer:
The narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's stories, such as 'The Pit and the Pendulum' and 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' is often seen as a 'Madman,' a character from a world of hope and faith contrasted with the grim settings they are placed in, which questions their reliability.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks which word best describes the narrator of 'The Pit and the Pendulum' by Edgar Allan Poe. If we take insights from Poe's other works, specifically 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' we notice the narrator is depicted as a 'Madman' by Roderick Usher, a character within the story. The use of mirror reflections throughout Poe's story illustrates the theme of hopelessness and doom. The character of the narrator in both stories is someone from the outside world, a place supposedly full of hope and faith, contrasting with the grim reality of the settings they find themselves in. Thus, the narrator's perspective, seemingly from an everyday society, is enveloped by the fatalism and bleakness of their surroundings, raising questions about their reliability and state of mind.