How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
The shadow in the alcove at the end in particular, had that undefinable quality of a presence, that odd suggestion of a lurking, living thing, that comes so easily in silence and solitude. At last, to reassure myself, I walked with a candle into it, and satisfied myself that there was nothing tangible there. I stood that candle upon the floor of the alcove, and left it in that position. (33)
The great description of the "lurking, living" shadow. Here the narrator’s imagination is making scary things out of the darkness again. He tries to put it to rest by going to the alcove and confirming there’s nothing there. But that’s not quite enough. To really quiet his imagination, the narrator needs to eliminate what it finds suggestive, namely, the dark.
Quote #8
The flame vanished, as if the wicks had been suddenly nipped between a finger and a thumb, leaving the wick neither glowing nor smoking, but black. (39)
Is the narrator’s imagination being overly active again, and making figures out of the darkness? Or is there really something there? From what he tells us, we have no way of knowing.
Quote #9
I staggered back, turned, and was either struck or struck myself against some other bulky furniture. I have a vague memory of battering myself thus, to and fro in the darkness, of a cramped struggle, and of my own wild crying as I darted to and fro, of a heavy blow at last upon my forehead, a horrible sensation of falling that lasted an age, of my last frantic effort to keep my footing, and then I remember no more. (46)
At this point, we get a strong sense that the narrator’s perceptions are no longer reliable. Not only is his memory foggy, (this is the only moment in the story when it becomes clear he’s narrating post facto or after the fact), he also can’t seem to decide whether he’s running into things or whether something else strikes him.