Question

N "The Pit and the Pendulum," the narrator explains, "I put forward my arm, and shuddered to find that I had fallen at the very brink of a circular pit....”

How does this description of the narrator's predicament affect the story?

It changes the narrator, in the minds of readers, from an unsympathetic figure into a sympathetic one.

It adds suspense by introducing real, narrowly avoided danger into the narrator's situation.

It forces readers to question the reliability of the narrator's account of events.

It injects dark humor to the story by indicating that the narrator was saved by his own clumsiness.

Answer 1

It adds suspense by introducing real, narrowly avoided danger into the narrator's situation.

Explanation: took the test

Answer 2

The correct answer is C. It adds suspense by introducing real, narrowly avoided danger into the narrator's situation.

Step-by-step explanation:

At this point of the story by Poe, the narrator is imprisoned in a dark cell and cannot see anything. The fact that he cannot see his surroundings and that he barely escaped death by falling into a pit adds suspense to the story. There could be more dangers around him but the narrator and the readers cannot see them, so the suspense increases.