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Copywork
About This Passage
These two sentences land the chapter's grim payoff: from the hilltop the survivors know for certain that their whole party is dead. They are worth copying for the metaphor 'the tempest of that overwhelming destruction,' which recasts a man-made ambush as a storm, and for the way Poe states a terrible certainty in two calm, balanced sentences.
The fate of our poor companions was no longer a matter of uncertainty. We alone had escaped from the tempest of that overwhelming destruction.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of this chapter. Which moments matter most, the rescue of Peters, the loss of Allen, the climb to the hilltop, or the discovery of the trap, and what makes the one you choose the most important?
Discussion Questions
- Pym can dig Peters free, but Allen must be left behind. What does that painful difference show the men about what they can and cannot control in this chapter? Which details make you think so, and why?
- On the hilltop, Pym and Peters read the clues to the disaster. Which one changes the scene most from accident to attack: the stakes, the cords, the drill-like marks, or the shape of the rock itself? Use the chapter's details to explain why that clue matters more than the others.
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Vocabulary
Item 1
A sudden, violent shaking or upheaval of the earth.
Item 2
The extra force gained by pulling or pushing in a clever, well-placed way.
Item 3
A terrible event that brings great loss or disaster.
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Critical Thinking
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