The Pit And The Pendulum Symbolism

1342 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in poes writing

The Pit and the Pendulum:

Death, torture, and gut wrenching horror are all characteristics of the short story the Pit and the Pendulum. Written by Edgar Allen Poe in his waning years, the story has kind of a dark romanticism with evil giving it an eerie feeling. Poe wrote only a few more short stories afterward, and those stories were increasingly more gruesome. However, due to the descriptive language, this particular story leaves the reader with a dark feeling. Many aspects of Poe's stories after the Pit and the Pendulum involved some sort of torture and torment to either the protagonist or someone close to them. This story also utilizes a lot of symbolism. For example, one could view it as the suffering of one man at the hands of another. Then follow his progression into purgatory with the pendulum serving as his way to work off his sins. Followed by the turning point where eventually the protagonist rises into what one could imagine as heaven when the angelic French soldiers free him and show him the light while leaving the dungeon after an unknown amount of time. Although these are marvelous examples of symbolism in the story, Poe's use of another means to show symbolism seems more suited to the story itself. In The Pit and the Pendulum, the author uses torment and torture to depict the immorality of Spanish inquisitors, who maimed, tortured, and killed prisoners during the Spanish Inquisition, as well as the pits representation of hell.
The Spanish Inquisition, a ruthless force bent on total destruction of the all non-Catholics, reigned supreme from 1483 - 1813 and were represented as demons and murders in the story. Established by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, approved by Pope Sixtus IV. The purpose of the Spa...

... middle of paper ...

...h to make another person confess, mentioned before as being a mental torture. Passive torture however is basically mixture of both active torture and mental torture at time. Examples seen in the story would be starvation, dehydration, forcing you to hold water, and hang by your feet as the blood slowly drains to your head. The narrator would suffer on end day in to day out until his rescue from these atrocities carried out by the inquisitors in his pit, which in some terms can be compared to hell. In the beginning, the soldier describes going into the pit as “a mad rushing descent as of the soul into Hades” (Poe 268). With the inquisitors as the demons of hell this allusion could not be better because in the story it says “oh! Most unrelenting! Oh! Most demoniac of men!”(Poe 229), with the French soldiers acting as heroic angels that freed him from the darkness.

Show More
Related

  • Edgar Allan Poe And Ray Bradbury Compare And Contrast

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe, Born Jan 19 1809, was better at writing suspenseful stories, usually with a twist at the end. In the story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe describes an unnamed narrator telling the story of a man who was put in prison, drugged, and sentenced to death

    Read More

  • Bernal Díaz del Castillo, The True History of the Conquest of New Spain

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Inquisition." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Berard L. Marthaler, 485-491. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2003.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Pit And The Pendulum

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever watched a movie and been dissatisfied, because it was not similar to its book? There are multiple movies that seem as if they are their own story, for they don't resemble their book at all. For example, “The Pit and the Pendulum.” by Edgar Allen Poe. He, himself would not approve of the film that follows his story. For one thing, the storyline was no where near to being like his book. Another reasoning is that he wrote based of one man not multiple people. And finally, he wouldn’t of approved of the art on the walls in the room with the pit and pendulum. These are the reasonings of why Poe would not appreciate the film.

    Read More

  • From Renaissance Law to Modern Democracy: A Historical Perspective

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the Byzantine empire’s power began to lessen, ecclesiastical law flourished (Rautman). The Inquisition was entirely based around Roman Catholicism, and was commonly seen as needed in order to protect and defend the church from protestantism and sinners. It’s courts had judges called “inquisitors.” Inquisitors served lifelong terms and made decisions solely in the name of the Pope. While the only type of crime pursued and prosecuted by the Inquisition were crimes against the church, it was often accused of being a very biased institution, as all verdicts were made according to Catholic beliefs, regardless of the circumstance

    Read More

  • Comparison Between “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poes The Premature Burial

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Works of Edgar Allen Poe

    1816 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death, despair, and revenge, these three words form a treacherous triangle to any reader who dare enter the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. In many of his works these expressions seem to form a reoccurring theme. Comparing the works "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado", we will discuss these themes while analyzing the method behind Poe’s madness.

    Read More

  • The Spanish Inquisition

    1949 Words  | 4 Pages

    AMD Press, New York, NY. Llorente, Juan Antonio [1967] A critical history of the Inquisition of Spain, from the period of its establishment by Ferdinand V to the reign of Ferdinand VII, composed from the original documents of the Archives of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition and from those of subordinate tribunals of the Holy Office. J. Lilburne Co., Williamstown, MA. Roth, Cecil.

    Read More

  • The Spanish Inquisition

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Joseph Pérez not only described the Spanish Inquisition by summarizing the contents of this “regime,” but also his main thesis and interpretation are based on criticizing the origins of anti-Semitism, how the Spanish Inquisition “defended the Catholic faith” against Jews, Muslims, Protestantism, and witchcraft. Also, Pérez continues his thesis and interpretations when he argued against the trials and organization of “the Holy Office”—the Inquisition. Finally, Pérez reinforced his main thesis by arguing and comparing the Spanish Inquisition with modern regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Communist regimes that used similar procedures of “torture” and “persecution” to those who opposed Nazism and Communism ideologies. Therefore, Pérez’s interpretation and explanation not only make sense, but they are well presented.

    Read More

  • The Spanish Inquisition

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order for an Inquisition to be issued the Holy Office, or the Pope, must grant permission (Bachrach 12). The Papacy instituted Inquisition in certain countries to counter any threat against Catholicism. An Inquisition was initially intended to prevent civil disruption, social corruption, and bloodshed (Bachrach 12). This, however, was not the case. The Church began to empower government officials called Inquisitors to essentially hunt down “unbelievers” and quietly question them about their faith

    Read More

  • The Spanish Inquistition

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ferdinand and Isabella used the Inquisition to eliminate opposition in Spain. Their thoughts were that by eliminating the Jews, Muslims, and New Christians in Spain they would gain unity, wealth, and power. They wanted to make a Christian and only a Christian Spain.

    Read More

  • The Gothic Theme of Edgar Allen Poe's Work

    1372 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe was an English short-story writer whose work reflects the traditional Gothic conventions of the time that subverted the ambivalence of the grotesque and arabesque. Through thematic conventions of the Gothic genre, literary devices and his own auteur, Edgar Allan Poe’s texts are considered sublime examples of Gothic fiction. The Gothic genre within Poe’s work such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, and The Raven, arouse the pervasive nature of the dark side of individualism and the resulting encroachment of insanity. Gothic tales are dominated by fear and terror and explore the themes of death and decay. The Gothic crosses boundaries into the realm of the unknown, arousing extremes of emotion through the catalyst of disassociation and subversion of presence. Gothic literature utilises themes of the supernatural to create a brooding setting and an atmosphere of fear.

    Read More

  • Common Motifs of Edgar Allan Poe

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”, all have common motifs; death, fear or terror, and madness. Each story has their own special way of showing the three different motifs. In all three stories these three motifs were connected in some way. Someone was afraid of something or someone, which drove them mad, which led them to kill someone. In the case of “The Cask of Amontillado” death was caused by revenge, and hate. Death, fear and madness are all common themes in a lot of Poe's work. They add depth and different perspectives to look at things from. They all make the stories what they are.

    Read More

  • A Fear of Death: Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum

    2314 Words  | 5 Pages

    Poe’s themes in his poems and short stories reveal a Gothic look on the world that includes morbid imagery that some people would not be comfortable with reading. In The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator has to make a drastic decision that not most would have to make: the choice of how to die. Although, the true horror of The Pit and the Pendulum is not just a matter of the choice of death, I believe it is also in the horror of no matter the result, he will die either way. Death in this situation is unavoidable and creates a strain in the human subconscious because of the natural human instinct to want to live. Burduck in his book Grim Phantasms: Fear in Poe’s Short Fiction writes that “of all the emotions by and affecting the mind, feat most intrigued Poe” (5). Poe’s use of fear is seen throughout many of his works and The Pit and the Pendulum is a prime example of this. The narrator in the story is put into an underground dungeon that he cannot get out of. The darkness encompassing him brings a “fearful idea” to his mind and in the dark waves his arms widely about in all dire...

    Read More

  • Fear in The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allan Poe

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

More about The Pit And The Pendulum Symbolism

Open Document