The Pit And The Pendulum Symbolism

Edgar Allan Poe has written many poignant stories and poems. Poe grew up a troubled individual and reflected these characteristics in his writings. Some of his works include The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. Perhaps his best work is the “Pit and the Pendulum”. In his terror filled short story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Edgar Allan Poe uses imagery, symbolism, and horror to describe the basic human struggle, the fight for survival in order to cope with mortality. Imagery in “The Pit and the Pendulum” is used to fuel detailed visualizations of the narrator and his surroundings. Edgar Allan Poe gives all readers a chance to take a tour of the wretched dungeon prison the narrator is in. Through the wonder of …show more content…
In the story everything the narrator comes in contact with has a literal and figurative meaning. One of the most prominent and defining features of the short story “The Pit and the Pendulum” that Poe frequently mentions is the pendulum itself. The pendulum is a very sharp blade that has the ultimate goal of ending the poor soul that is stuck in the cell. At first it seems inevitable that the narrator is going to die at the hand of the blade. He is tied down and it is coming straight for him, and will take out everything in its path. The ties that bind the narrator represents life, and the pendulum can represent death. All people are bound by life and cannot leave it. The pendulum slowly descends and will take anyone who is with life. No matter what, one cannot escape death. It always draws closer and will get everyone. Some can temporarily escape it but will not permanently escape its wrath. One can think of the pendulum as the Grim Reaper’s scythe of time and death descending (May 97). The rats in the story could perhaps even represent something. They could represent those who are waiting to reap the benefits of one who has passed. They don’t benefit in any way from the narrator being alive, so it’s in their best interest that he die. Another prominent symbol Poe uses in the short story appears at the end. The symbol is that of General LaSalle, the one …show more content…
In the story, the narrator goes though many horrible things. He is first off put in an unknown place with unknown surroundings Poe describes. He is surrounded by iron walls in a damp and dark cell. There is a pendulum slowly coming down on the inmate. The room is infested with rats. A huge pit is present and is of unknown size. Poe’s whole setting is one that is horrific in every way. It is apparent that no one would want to be in this situation, especially under these circumstances. The setting is one of the main sources of horror in this short story. Along with the physical landscape, the narrator endures much more horror. The narrator is treated in an obviously inhumane way. The narrator is drugged on multiple accounts, and cannot remember basic facts as a result of the drugging. The narrator is also not informed on the reasons or basis of his own punishment. He is being punishment for a seemingly pointless or nonexistent reason, and leave the reader to make assumptions on why the narrator is being imprisoned. Perhaps the most horrific part of the story is the encounters with death that the narrator has. They are the most horrific as they make the reader imagine going through such a death experience. At first, the pendulum seems to be on an unstoppable course towards the narrator and has a lust for blood. The narrator manages to elude the pendulum, but is faced with even more terror filled