Read the selection below from the short story “the pit and the pendulum” by edgar allan poe and answer the question that follows. amid the thought of the fiery destruction that impended, the idea of the coolness of the well came over my soul like balm. i rushed to its deadly brink. i threw my straining vision below. the glare from the enkindled roof illumined its inmost recesses. yet, for a wild moment, did my spirit refuse to comprehend the meaning of what i saw. at length it forced—it wrestled its way into my soul—it burned itself in upon my shuddering reason. o for a voice to speak! —oh, horror! —oh, any horror but this! with a shriek i rushed from the margin and buried my face in my hands—weeping bitterly. based on the passage above, which statement best summarizes why the reader may not be sympathetic to the narrator? the narrator appears to be weak minded, which is not an admirable character trait. most readers will not like poe’s use of complicated words and long sentences. sympathy is something that readers have for animals, not characters from books. being consumed by fire does not seem to be particularly painful.

Who is the speaker? read the quotations and answer the questions for each quote. quotation analysis "those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of " what is the main idea of the quotation? who do you think is the speaker? what evidence from the background reading leads you to the conclusion about the speaker? 2. "all communities divide themselves into the few and the many. the first are rich and well born, the other the mass of the people…" what is the main idea of the quotation? they divided the people in between rich and poor who do you think is the speaker? hamilton what evidence from the background reading leads you to the conclusion about the speaker? federalists believed that the country should be ruled by the by the best people 3. "laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense." what is the main idea of the quotation? who do you think is the speaker? what evidence from the background reading leads you to the conclusion about the speaker? 4. "a fondness for power is implanted in most men, and it is natural to abuse it when acquired." what is the main idea of the quotation? who do you think is the speaker? what evidence from the background reading leads you to the conclusion about the speaker?