Final answer:
Farquhar's isolation and the metaphor of a pendulum foreshadow his psychological oscillation between reality and fantasy, leading to his ultimate realization and return to the inevitable truth of his execution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Farquhar's isolation in the story foreshadows his eventual fate and represents his psychological journey between reality and fantasy. The mention of his isolation like a vast pendulum symbolizes the back and forth between Farquhar's impending doom and his escapist fantasies, indicating a precariously swinging state between life and death. Farquhar's eventual realization mirrors the philosophical reflections found in the provided quotes: reflections on the unreal nature of shadows, the disillusionment of Roderick Usher, and his own spiraling descent into despair within a prison.
This narrative device sets the stage for Farquhar's return to his reality, which is initially veiled by significant psychological denial and later, crushing despair as he faces the truth of his situation. The idea of return to reality for Farquhar is the culmination of his mental journey from hope to hopelessness as encapsulated in the narrative. The term pendulum is not only a literal image of the hanging but also a metaphor for the oscillation between hope and the hard truth of his inevitable execution.