Essay/Term paper: The pit and the pendelum

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Position Papers

Steven Clark

Pg.1

The Pit and the Pendulum



The Pit and the Pendulum is a story about a man confined to a prison cell and tortured mercilessly in Toledo Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. Edgar Allen Poe's story is powerful because the prisoner tells the story of his torture. Given this you know he is going to survive which helps make the mystery so much more complex.

The plot is very believable and consistent. Poe shows great detail in the setting of the dungeon. The plot is hard to fathom, in that it is difficult to believe that a man could survive so much adversity without going crazy. The consistency in the story is the addition of a new problem for him to solve after he finishes the previous one.It is hard to imagine the prisoner could ever survive his immense torture but he did. In the end the prisoner was rescued by General Lasalle after Lasalle invaded Toledo. The ending was proper for the plot, because he deserved to be rewarded after his immense torture. It is a major coincidence that they invaded Toledo to save the falling prisoner from his death. The plot is suspenseful. It kept you on you're toes at every moment because of the ever danger of death in each paragraph. In the conflict the plot is subtle and complex as well as a struggle between and all-good hero and an all-bad villain. The prisoner is being tortured by a person that seems to be all-bad because of the suffering he inflicts on other people. The story is suspenseful because all through the reading you think he is going to die but he seems to overcome every obstacle that he comes across.

The character doesn't seem realistic because it doesn't seem possible that a human could survive the constant torture that he endured couldn't last as long as he did. The torturer's motives at first seem to be to cause death on the prisoner. Later, the torturer seems to enjoy torturing the prisoner in the cruelest possible way. The prisoner seems to be rounded because of his great resourcefulness in finding a way to survive. He thought of the rats when he was about to be taken over by the Pendulum by putting the rancid meat on the leather straps. The character was static because of the way he compiled himself he never seemed to panic. He knew what he had to do to overcome each obstacle.

The story is told to reveal a theme in the time that this story took place. In those days the torture and madness that was endured was remarkable. The theme in this period of time was to tell that people would kill at all costs, and all ways. The story deals with an important aspect of life in that hard work and perseverance are necessary to succeed. The prisoner had to keep himself alive by struggling and realizing that the only way he was to survive was to outsmart and outlast the torturer. Another aspect in life that is portrayed is that the prisoner would have gained nothing if he wouldn't have of thought outside of the lines. The prisoner solved problems that would have never had been solved if he looked right at the problem instead of looking at odd possibilities of escape. The truth in the story is that a human can be pushed to unimaginable limits.. We need to push ourselves, because the only way to success is through hard work and determination. Another truth that lies in the story is that torturers in this time of life were horrible people, who knew no limits. Morals seemed to be non-existent

The Pit and the Pendulum was a great mystery and kept you on the edge of you're seat all through the story. The author did a great job of building the intensity and then letting it all go in the end.