is full of symbols. Although they are all open to interpretation, several,
particularly the pit and the pendulum themselves, are very clear and comprehensible given the
themes andof the story.
The narrator is condemned by white-lipped,
black-robed judges, whose resolution and contempt for human life suggest that they symbolize
fate. He then notices seven tall candles, which at first seem like angels but quickly become
meaningless specters with heads of flame. The narrator himself says that he saw no help would
come from them, showing that they symbolize the departure of hope, perhaps hope from a spiritual
or religious quarter.
The pit symbolizes the ever-present threat of death
and hell, into which it would be all too easy to cast oneself in despair or sink without even
realizing it. The...
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