h" (Foye 51).
             For the most part, the presence of tragedy in Poe's "Tales of Terror"
             can best be described by the following scenario which reflects the inner
             minds of the characters as they relate the tale and occasionally perish
             from some unexplainable "fatal flaw" in their personalities. Essentially,
             the characters perceives that they are trapped in a hostile environment
             beyond their control which creates great apprehension despite not knowing
             the specific causes for their dread. On occasion, the characters suffer
             from real threats in their daily lives and confronts these threats with
             ingenuity and courage, at times even overcoming their fears by retaliating
             against an innocent victim, either through violence or mental torture.
             Afterwards, the characters feels remorse for their actions and are
             emotionally forced to atone for their guilt through confession or by
             exposing themselves to official punishment or self-inflicted agony. This
             then indicates some type of moral inadequacy in the characters, for "within
             their limits as human beings, they are incapable of dealing with certain
             tasks and situations which others view as unimportant or trivial" (Lesky,
             In a number of Poe's "Tales of Terror," the protagonists seem to
             experience one or more traits associated with the above scenario. In "The
             Pit and the Pendulum," first published in The Gift in September of 1842,
             the protagonist, while under the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition, is
             presented as the suffering victim; in "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black
             Cat," both published in 1843, the protagonists become the aggressors
             by attacking an innocent victim which causes the protagonist to feel
             remorse for his act, thereby forcing him to absolve his guilt by confession
             or exposure to punishment; in "The Cask of Amontillado," published in
             Godey's Lady's Book for November of 1846, the protagonist, being the
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