Comprehension and Literary Analysis Responses for “The Pit and the Pendulum” 1. The narrator has a life sentence for his crime of being a converted Jew or Muslim at the time of the Spanish Inquisition. One could tell this when the narrator states, “The sentence… the dread sentence of death” (Poe “Pit” 296). He then says, “After that, the sound of the inquisitorial voices seemed merged in one dreamy indeterminate hum” (Poe “Pit” 296). 2. Before opening his eyes, the narrator imagines all sorts of horrors. This leads him to have his worst fear confirmed, and it is not being able to see anything, or having there be nothing to see. One can tell this when the narrator says, “It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I …show more content…
To add on to this fate, he later says about the rats, “They were wild, bold, ravenous; their red eyes glaring upon me as if they waited but for motionlessness on my part to make me their prey… They pressed - they swarmed upon me in ever accumulating heaps. They writhed upon my throat; their cold lips sought my own; I was half stifled by their thronging pressure; disgust” (Poe “Pit” 309). Because they seemed to want to eat and kill him, one can see that this would be a terrifying pre-existing fate. A reader can determine the second fate, being split apart by the pendulum, when the narrator says, “...what mainly disturbed me was the idea that it had perceptibly descended. I now observed - with what horror it is needless to say - that its nether extremity was formed of a crescent of a glittering steel… and the under edge evidently as keen as that of a razor... I could no longer doubt the doom” (Poe “Pit” 305). When the author, Poe, compares the pendulum to a razor that can cut and potentially hurt you, the audience can determine that this is one of …show more content…
The narrator shows that even in the middle of a terrible situation, he can concentrate on his plan and be intelligent by continuing to try and find a way out of the dungeons and escape without being harmed. One can tell this because of when he says, “There were in all, then, a hundred paces; and, admitting two paces to the yard, I presumed the dungeon to be fifty yards in circuit. I had met, however, with many angles in the wall, and thus I could form no guess at the shape of the vault; for vault I could not help supposing it to be… I had little object - certainly no hope these researches; but a vague curiosity prompted me to continue them… I saw clearly the doom which had been prepared for me, and congratulated myself upon the timely accident by which I had escaped” (Poe “Pit” 301-2). In this quote, the audience can tell that the narrator is smart in that he found the pit and he continued in searching for an exit by using
Now he could have died differently, some people think that Edgar Allen Poe could have died from rabies. The doctor that he went to had written a report and a doctor today compared the report and concluded that he had succumbed to rabies. The report had many symptoms of rabies but many other things too. Other doctors say that he could may have not died from rabies but from hydrophobia which is caused from rabies. It was reported that he didn’t drink any water at the hospital. Some people have been diagnosed with rabies but didn’t recall being bitten by an
I do not believe Poe died from carbon monoxide poisoning, heavy metal poisoning or rabies. Hair samples were taken and tested for both carbon monoxide poisoning and heavy metal poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning resulted inconclusive while the heavy metal test showed it was 30 times lower than Mercury poisoning. Rabies was not a likely theory as Poe had no animal bites found on his body. He remained thirsty and drinking water until his death while in the hospital and people who have been infected with rabies have hydrophobia. Because of these facts, those theories are easily disproven.
The Pit and the Pendulum and the Fall of the House of Usher are both dark and both have a gothic writing style to them. Edgar Allen Poe is known for his gothic writing style. In the Fall of the House of Usher he uses dark, gloomy, and suspenseful verbs. In the Pen and the Pendulum he uses suspense and a dark atmosphere.
More evidence that points to Poe dying of rabies is his behavior at the tavern and the hospital. Dr. Benitez explains that Poe was only semi-conscious at the tavern and was reported to have been wearing another person’s clothes. At the hospital, Poe was also reported to be exhibiting hydrophobia. Rabies victims commonly exhibit hydrophobia, since water becomes painfully hard to swallow. Poe also refused alcohol once brought to him at the hospital.
In the Story The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator explains that he has been sentenced to death by the Inquisition (the institutionalized persecution of all Protestants and heretical Catholics by the Catholic government in 15th- and 16th-century Spain). The reader however must not get Poe confused with the narrator because the narrator is the one telling the story while Poe is the author of the story. The narrator starts his story by saying he is sick unto death (180). The narrator here is trying to suggest that this sickness is the normal position of a human being; everyone is mortal. He recognizes this in the beginning. "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a story of torture. The punishments that the narrator is about to receive illustrate the power of humans to inflict pain and suffering on others. In addition, though, this story shows that the worst kind of torture is that of uncertainty and fear. Once the narrator understands that he will die from falling into the pit, it is no longer as cruel a punishment as the Inquisitors want to give him. Therefore, each punishment entails some element of pain, but, more importantly, a great deal of mental anguish before death.
Poe develops his theme that no one can escape death through the narration or in general the narrator. We do not know nor do we learn who tells the story even at the end when all the people are stated to have died. There are many ways to look at this to see if we can get some hint to who is the narrator. Is the narrator a person that was there in the abbey which is hard to see because we read at the end that all of the people die but as David Dudley states in his article, “He reveals himself overtly only three time. . .” which shows that he had to be in the abbey . It also can be told by “…one of Prospero’s dying guests…last sentence could be read as the equivalent of Hamlet’s…” which could also have been possible (Dudley). Either way, when death comes at the end no one can escape it unless it is death itself.
In "The House of Poe", Richard Wilbur elucidates his criticisms of Poe 's work. He firstly comments on a critic 's purpose, then how Poe 's stories are all allegories. He then addresses the possible opposition to his argument, and then begins his discussion of the common themes in Poe 's writing and provides examples from his stories. This dissertation will analyze Wilbur 's criticism by cross referencing Poe 's work and how it exemplifies Wilbur 's assessment. There is a great deal of evidence to support Wilbur 's theories, but a close examination of each one will determine how legitimate his argument really is.
The Narrator was much more physical when it came to killing the old man. Poe writes “In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him.” (404). The Narrator kept the bed over the old man until he could no longer hear a heart beat.... ...
In this complete darkness the main character has no idea where he is. Could it be a tomb, or is he in prison waiting to be hanged? The unknown narrator shows fear by the opening of story when he states, “I was sick unto death, with that long agony, and when they at length bound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me.” (Poe 1.) He felt this way every time he would take a drink of what little water was left for him. He would drink it, fall asleep and wake up somewhere else. When he feels the walls are beginning to close in on him and he is going to fall into a pit, he realizes the water he has been drinking is drugged. It is when he stands up he realizes he is in a dark cell with a deep pit in the middle. At the bottom of the pit is water. “And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in grave.” (Poe 2.) The character begins to think why am I here? Am I going to die here not knowing why? No one gave him a reason why he was taken and put in a dark cell. He knew it was the Spanish Inquisition but as far as he was concerned, he ...
The short story is generally a study in human terror. Furthermore, the author explains Poe use of a particular style and technique, to not only create the mood of mystery, but to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator. Poe makes a connection between the storyteller and reader with knowledge and literary craftsmanship.
Furthermore, Poe’s plot development added much of the effect of shocking insanity to “The Black Cat.” To dream up such an intricate plot of perverseness, alcoholism, murders, fire, revival, and punishment is quite amazing. This story has almost any plot element you can imagine a horror story containing. Who could have guessed, at the beginning of the story, that narrator had killed his wife? The course of events in “The Black Cat’s” plot is shockingly insane by itself! Moreover, the words in “The Black Cat” were precisely chosen to contribute to Poe’s effect of shocking insanity. As the narrator pens these he creates a splendidly morbid picture of the plot. Perfectly selected, sometimes rare, and often dark, his words create just the atmosphere that he desired in the story.
Does the narrator show weakness through this mental illness or is it a sophistical mind of a genius? This is the question that must be answered here. Throughout this discussion we will prove that the narrator is a man of a conscience mind and committed the crime of murder. Along with that we will expose Poe’s true significance of writing this short story, and how people were getting away with crime by justifying that they were insane.
The presence of the two cats in the tale allows the narrator to see himself for who he truly is. In the beginning the narrator explains that his “tenderness of heart made him the jest of his companions”. (251) He also speaks of his love for animals that has remained with him from childhood into manhood. However, Poe contradicts this description of the narrator when he seems to become annoyed with the cat that he claims to love so much. While under the influence of alcohol the narrator is “fancied that the cat avoided his presence”(250) and as a result decides to brutally attack the cat. This black cat symbolizes the cruelty received by slaves from whites. The narrator not only “deliberately cuts one of the cats eyes from the sockets” (250) but he also goes on to hang the cat. Once the narrator successfully hangs the cat the tale begins to take a very dark and gothic-like turn. The racism and guilt of the narrator continues to haunt him once he has killed the black cat. Th...
The theme fear of the unknown can be similar to being afraid of the dark. Darkness is a symbol of fear, mystery or evil. The darkness creates fear because one is visually impaired. The dark itself it not terrifying, it’s the fear of whatever might be lurking around. Hearing a little creak makes one afraid and anxious that will eventually lead them to come up with their own theories and solutions. The mind 's imagination takes over and makes one think of their worse fears. Many people can say that they are not afraid, but what if something comes up from behind you? What if something is underneath your bed, just waiting for the right time to hurt you? The truth is that everyone is afraid of the dark, and because the vision is impaired, it is essentially the fear of the unknown. Fears creates itself and prevents an individual from making the correct decisions for their survival. Fear is not only unknown, there are many kinds of fears many individuals have for example some fear their body weight, relationships, jobs and public appearance. Fear comes in many different types of forms; and every form has a different effect on someone. One can overcome fear by understand their fear and having hope that good will come. In every bad situation, the only way you can bring light in the darkness is by having
One of the staples of Poe's writing is the dramatic effect it has on the reader. Poe is known for his masterful use of grotesque, and often morbid, story lines and for his self-destructive characters and their ill-fated intentions. "The Black Cat" is no different from any of his other stories, and thus a Pragmatic/Rhetorial interpretation is obviously very fitting. If Pragmatic/Rhetorical criticism focuses on the effect of a work on its audience, then "The Black Cat" serves as a model for all other horror stories. One of the most intriguing aspects Poe introduces into the story is the black cat itself. The main character initially confesses a partiality toward domestic pets, especially his cat. Most readers can identify with an animal lover, even if they themselves are not. It is not long though before the reader learns of the disease that plagues the main character - alcoholism. Again, the reader can identify with this ailment, but it is hard to imagine that alcoholism could be responsible for the heinous actions made by the main character. In a drunken rage the main character cuts out one of the cat's eyes with a pen knife, and act at which he even shudders. Then, only after the cat's slow recovery from that attack, does the man hang the cat from the limb of a tree. ...