Talia Markin In “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe shows his fascination with death and the supernatural. The story is filled with dark themes and outlines the nature of fear, alternate versions of reality, and the fine line between life and death. The protagonist’s insanity may be supported by the intricate descriptions of his torture and whether or not his suffering brought on by this trauma has actually occurred or not--it is difficult to tell. The narrator seems to jump around quite a bit between what he thinks could be happening, and what is actually happening, so it is hard to know whether or not what he is seeing is hallucinations or not. Throughout, the narrator is confused about his reality, and does not wholly understand what
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There is much confusion. He has a hard time defining which state is death-like and which is not. He states that he was “sick unto death, with that long agony, and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me.” Because his senses have left him, he has difficulty describing his experiences, although the confusion adds an interesting touch to the story that seems necessary. He transitions into the fact that he “had swooned; but still will not say that all of consciousness was lost. What of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all was not lost. In the deepest slumber – no! In delirium – no! In a swoon – no! In death – no! Even in the grave all was not lost. Else there is no immortality for man.” He explains that without consciousness during death there is no afterlife, which also reveals that he must not be very religious. All in all, “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a psychological story that must be examined closely. It contains dark elements for the discussion of serious topics on life and death, and what happens in between. The discussion of controversial topics relating to what happens after death and how far our consciousness reaches after death is interesting. The narrators heretic views could be what have brought him into
There is much confusion. He has a hard time defining which state is death-like and which is not. He states that he was “sick unto death, with that long agony, and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me.” Because his senses have left him, he has difficulty describing his experiences, although the confusion adds an interesting touch to the story that seems necessary. He transitions into the fact that he “had swooned; but still will not say that all of consciousness was lost. What of it there remained I will not attempt to define, or even to describe; yet all was not lost. In the deepest slumber – no! In delirium – no! In a swoon – no! In death – no! Even in the grave all was not lost. Else there is no immortality for man.” He explains that without consciousness during death there is no afterlife, which also reveals that he must not be very religious. All in all, “The Pit and the Pendulum” is a psychological story that must be examined closely. It contains dark elements for the discussion of serious topics on life and death, and what happens in between. The discussion of controversial topics relating to what happens after death and how far our consciousness reaches after death is interesting. The narrators heretic views could be what have brought him into