In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum'; and “The Masque of the Red Death';, the author uses different symbolism to illustrate the image of death. In both of these stories, death is the final result of a punishment, the end of a human’s life. However, in the first story, Poe shows us that there exists something in human ‘s life that is more terrible than death. And in the second story, Poe tells us that death is inevitable and it is useless if you try to escape it.
From the beginning of “The Pit and the Pendulum';, Poe starts to show us the desperation and the terror the narrator feels in the prison. He is alone and lost, he can’t see anything and hear any voice. It makes him feel hopeless and scared. The complete dark pit where the Inquisition shuts the narrator up creates an atmosphere of death and fear. The fact that the pit is an abyss makes the readers think of death. In addition, the ceiling of the prison where a huge pendulum with a scythe hangs shows that the narrator’s life is in danger. The image of death becomes clearer when the narrator finds out that the pendulum is in motion. “But 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 neither extremity was formed of a crescent…';(68). Death becomes impossible to prevent in this case. Especially when the pendulum keeps going down. As Poe describes, “Down- still unceasingly- still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration…';(70) However, when we all wait to see the end, the narrator is saved by the rats. This unexpected change gives us a message that life is full of unexpected and we can never lose hope.
But a more unimaginable thing happens right after the escape from the pendulum.
The prison (the pit) becomes hot like a heated iron. Moreover, “ a richer tint of crimson diffused itself over the pictured horrors of blood'; (72) Here, we can make a connection between blood and death easily. Once again, the narrator ‘s life is in menace. Fortunately, the narrator is saved at the last minute, but the terror and the fear he feels during that period seems more terrific than death. In fact, Poe shows us compare to the affliction the narrator suffers in the pit, death becomes a relief.
Next, Poe mentions the "damp ground of the catacombs," which are a more obvious symbol of death. Eventually, Poe launches into a vivid description of the piles of human remains which line the walls of the crypt into which they enter. At this point, the morbidity of the symbolism is clear, and this symbolism has helped to create suspense.
Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century American poet, author, and critic. Poe is often described as a rebel against society and art-for-art's sake supporter who experimented in making his poems without didacticism and devoid of any meaning, but he is also respected as a genius in terms of his commitment to art and his ability to experiment with various forms of expressions (Fromm 304). In my opinion, Poe was not a rebel because he remained true to himself. Although he was influenced by traditional artists, he adapted this tradition to his personal being. Although he might have been perceived as a rebel against society because of his innovative views on the world, human beings, and poetry, I believe his work remains popular and influential today because he remained true to his style and personality. However, I agree that he was dedicated to art for art's sake because his main intention was to express himself through his work. Poe did not bother with popular styles and techniques, but he was a master poet when it comes to adapting to different styles to convey his emotions appropriately. Overall, Poe's poetry displays sentimentalism because he puts all emphasis on emotions and no emphasis on logic, but it is not limited to optimism because he displays both positive and negative emotions, and he displays them often together using both extremes in a single poem.
The writing style of Edgar Allan Poe shows the writer to be of a dark nature. In this story, he focuses on his fascination of being buried alive. He quotes, “To be buried alive is, beyond question, the most terrific of these [ghastly] extremes which has ever fallen to the lot of mere mortality.” page 58 paragraph 3. The dark nature is reflected in this quote, showing the supernatural side of Poe which is reflected in his writing and is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Poe uses much detail, as shown in this passage, “The face assumed the usual pinched and sunken outline. The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lusterless. There was no warmth. Pulsation had ceased. For three days the body was preserved unburied, during which it had acquired a stony rigidity.” page 59 paragraph 2. The descriptive nature of this writing paints a vivid picture that intrigues the reader to use their imagination and visualize the scene presented in the text. This use of imagery ties with aspects of Romanticism because of the nature of the descriptions Poe uses. Describing the physical features of one who seems dead is a horrifying perspective as not many people thing about the aspects of death.
Poe chooses plague as his tool of death. He takes his time to perfectly describe how enormous threat such a plague can be: “No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous.” Another terrifying fact is that the plague is incredibly quick and therefore there is practically no chance to be cured: “At the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half and hour.” To support the idea of dread, Poe is also describing the process of the horrible and painful dying: “There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness and the profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution.” Moreover we can feel a certain respect to it. The author even calls it by a name “The Red Death” and uses capital letters. He is animating it this way and the reader realises it is not so easy to escape from it.
In much of Poe’s Work, the presence of revenge and death seem to precede each other. In both stories, if someone dies, then revenge follows. If someone commits revenge, death seems to find that person. With the death of the commoners in "The Masque of the Red Death", revenge seems to follow the prince who abandoned them. When Fortunato betrays Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado", death follows shortly after. In the end of the stories the characters come full circle with fate, whether it fortune or misfortune.
Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother and father where both actors, David and Elizabeth Arnold. They had financial difficulties, which soon caused the father to abandon the family. Poe's mother soon had another child; however, she was having physical conditions causing her death on December 8, 1811. Becoming orphans, both Poe and his sister were split up in family friend’s houses. Poe went to live with the Allan's. As Poe grew up he started having problems with his John Allan, his foster father, which caused future problems. Poe's first step to start a career was attending the University of Virginia in 1826. "Allan failed to provide Poe with enough money for necessities such as furniture and books and Poe soon ran up a tremendous gambling debt and began drinking, despite his very low tolerance for alcohol" (Loveday 2). After a time he moved to Boston, "The Great Literature Capital." What was helping Poe start of his career, where the big hopes of one day becoming a writer despite the harsh life he had since he was little. Poe's work has had an impact on literature. Throughout his most famous pieces of literature, "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Raven," and "The Cast of Amontillado," we see common factors that influenced these types of works through his plots and characters. "Madness, alienation, and mankind's long love affair with morbidity were the his subjects, and he didn't mind admitting to being more to being more than half in love with easeful death, to mangle a line from his favorite poet, Tennyson," (Allen 2).
In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the setting is very dark. “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year.”(The Fall of the House of Usher) The Usher house was placed on a swampy area. The smell as you would step right outside of the house was that of rot, and decayed trees. On the mansion itself there are many cracks and plants overtaking it. In the “Pit and the Pendulum,” Poe uses descriptive words to describe the setting of the cell. “I longed, yet dared not, to employ my vision. I dreaded the first glance at objects around me. It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me.”(The Pit and the Pendulum) The man in the pit can’t see anything but black inside of the cell. This is because the cell(pit) has no windows entering it. The setting of any story is the most important part because it helps paint a picture in people’s heads as the story plot starts to come
The story Sonny's Blues is about overcoming suffering and pain. The themes of the story are freedom, acceptance, and redemption. At the beginning of the story, the narrator seems to be out of touch with himself and disconnected from his community. When his daughter dies, he gradually begins to comprehend the depth of his brother Sonny’s struggle with drugs addiction. He later reconnects with his brother to rekindle their relationship. At first, he is hesitant to accept his brothers' desire to be a musician. After hearing Sonny play, the narrator accepts the meaning of his brothers' life. By accepting his brother, he is able to come to terms with himself and his community. This breakthrough led to redemption for the narrator and his brother
Plastic surgery has allowed people to conform to society by eliminating their differences. The practice has allowed people to alter and enhance their appearances and not just for correcting abnormality or defect. Coelho says “Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.” (16)
Some people’s obsession with plastic surgery is obviously getting out of control. It starts with only getting one thing fixed or corrected but then quickly escalates and before you know it, a face that once was all-flesh turns into plastic. According to a study conducted by Nigel Mercer (2009), “The number of official cosmetic surgeries has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003”. The two reasons why plastic surgery should be banned are because of its high health risks, and because of the additional pressure it puts on people to look picture-perfect.
Poe, Edgar Allen. “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Poe, Edgar Allan. The Pit and the Pendulum. Mankato, Minn.: Creative Education, 1980. Print
Bullying has become a real problem in the last decade or two. If there isn’t a stop to these actions done by the bullies then suicides and school shooting are to become more prevalent in the future to come. Everyone should take a stand against these horrible, misunderstood people. “Unless and until programs are instituted to address the seriousness and potential life-threatening bullying that is prevalent in most schools today, the teen suicide rate will undoubtedly increase” (Clarke 1).
“In 2012 more than 236,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on patients between 13 and 19 of age including more than 75,000 surgical procedures such as nose reshaping,liposuction and,breast lifts and tummy tuck” (I). ”Plastic surgery dates back to at least 600 B.C. ,when Hindu physicians were surgically reconstructing noses” (A). The modern plastic surgery techniques developed after world war I and was used for soldiers who had suffered during the war for example people who had broken their nose or neck (A). In the second half of the 20th century,plastic surgery became more popular, mostly women would get plastic procedures to gain more confident and get the feeling of social acceptance (A). When performed correctly ,cosmetic surgery can raise self-esteem and give confident for those who are locked inside there shame,misery box for too long (H).Cosmetic surgery can improve your physical features it could change you physically and mentally by making you think and feel positive towards everything, what you do does not influence others but yourself(I).Cosmetic surgery can make you a better,positive person, where it takes away your stress and gives you an easier, happier life, but it could also go wrong
Evidently, the use of traditional embellishments such as makeup and hairstyling are not enough for certain groups in today’s society. Many men and women are willing to pay top dollar for permanent changes masked by the belief that it will increase self-confidence, increase visual appeal, or reduce the effects of aging. Regardless of the motives behind undertaking surgical procedures, the cause of this mindset is clear. Modern marketing has distributed a plague of perfect breasts, firm obliques, slender silhouettes and white teeth across a variety of media, infesting a number of communities within North America and the developed world. Vanity and personal image have taken more priority than ever (Sullivan 2001:1) within the cosmetic medicine discipline, evident by the fact that the most common cosmetic surgeries are breast enlargements and/or reductions (Sullivan 2001:1).
There are so many good and bad things that can come from getting plastic surgery. This essay will tell you all the effects, good and bad, that come from getting plastic surgery. The main reasons that people get plastic surgery are Medical, Personal, and at times for career enhancement. Though we all should be satisfied with our looks we aren’t so one way of going about fixing it is by plastic surgery. Some people choose this method sometimes as a way of medical recommendation. Another way is for personal use and just to feel better about them. The last effect of plastic surgery is in some ways to advance in the career path you have chosen. There are so many reasons why people choose this but this essay will focus