Hiram’s experiences in this part of the novel underline why slavery was often characterized as a form of living hell. Each time it seems as if his torment could not get any worse, it does, and the fact that he has no foreknowledge or control over his fate makes this even more painful. Indeed, being taken to the pit which he compares to a kind of death shows how Hiram is being pushed to the brink of his physical and psychological limits.