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The Pit And The Pendulum

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The Pit and the Pendulum is an extravagant short horror story written by the renowned American writer Edgar Allen Poe. The thriller was published in 1843 and was a story that appealed to the readers five senses and created a sense of horror without the aid of the supernatural. The story also showed a real look at the meanings and consequences of the terrors being described in the story, by telling it in the perspective of the victim. Poe is putting the reader in the shoes of the victim letting us see how the events play out. As the story starts the narrator is talking about being sentenced to death by torture from a panel of inquisitors during the spanish inquisition. The fact that the narrator is telling you this story in a past tense makes …show more content…

At this point, you realize that he is going crazy and that his nerves are shot especially when he trembles at the sound of his own voice. Trying to stay awake the narrator can’t hold back anymore and falls asleep and is awoken to more water and bread except this time the water seemed to be drugged and he passes out again. Only this time being awoken to the sight of the room totally different than what he was thinking in his head when he was taking dimensions, and this time, he was tied down, with only his head and left arm free. That I don 't understand why leave just one arm free he could somehow find a way out. Then he realizes the big mural of father time holding a pendulum above him. Except the pendulum here was sharp and coming towards the narrator. He thought this was the end so he waited for it to come, accepting his fate of death. Off to the side of the pit the narrator realizes rats eating some kind of spiced meat. Hours pass by and the pendulum still sways slowly and closer to him, realizing that maybe this is his chance to find a way out. Grabbing the meat he got an idea and put it on the string restraining his hand and the hungry rats come and eat through them. Just in the nick of time to as the pendulum was starting to cut through his clothes and skin. Crazy how he got out again missing death, like when he almost fell into the pit. Then the walls start burning

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