The story The Pit and the Pendulum starts off quite mysteriously with a man apparently in a room alone, without much explanation. The man thinks he is locked in a tomb, which gives a grave tone to the poem that follows the whole way through. He is also confused as to why he got locked up, as opposed to the regular punishment for Inquisition victims, hanging. This does more to intensify the tone, as does his lazing around the room. He realizes that since he can still think and walk around, that this must not be a tomb. He keeps himself busy by measuring the walls, then falls asleep, and finally waking to brad and water, which he devours. While this box is scaring him, he is becoming more comfortable with this place, in terms of knowing what is where. He discovers, quite astounded while falling to the ground, there is an abyss in the middle of the room. His head is hanging over the side, which I think represents how you can see something and be aware of it while still having much to learn about it. He discovers the abyss is a very deep pit, after throwing a stone in, but then falls asleep soon after.
He awakes to more bread and water, which he devours again, but then notices something off and passes out again. He concludes, after waking up in the room to find it is now dimly lit, that the water must have been drugged. He is startled when he realizes he is tied to a board, and confused by the 'time' on the ceiling. This was represented by a pendulum, which I think in turn represents the back and forth mindset of the main character, and humans in general. He then notices rats eating his small amount of food, giving a 'final' feel to the end of the poem. He also notices upon further inspection that the pendulum is a scythe moving closer to him every second. This might represent how humans see obstacles in their life, slowly coming to pass them, but really we have plenty of time to prepare. Being optimistic, with the pendulum nearing his heart, he rubs food over the straps, which the rats chew through releasing him just in time. The pendulum retracts into the ceiling, showing that when you think you're alone, you have to think twice. With the walls now moving into him, forcing him into the pit, he gives up with inches left of ground to stand on and almost falls in, when a soldier grabs him and prevents his death. this goes to show that when all hope is lost, sometimes it's worth it to hold on those last few seconds.
Do you think the pendulum could have multiple meanings or that rats symbolize anything? Good response but if you are doing New Criticism of the poem, you should not say "I Think"
ReplyDeleteBrad,
ReplyDeleteYou write, “The story The Pit and the Pendulum starts off quite mysteriously with a man apparently in a room alone, without much explanation. “ The lack of background info/early characterization means the story has little EXPOSITION (the literary term for this background info).
Good observation: “The man thinks he is locked in a tomb, which gives a grave tone to the poem that follows the whole way through.”
“He is also confused as to why he got locked up, as opposed to the regular punishment for Inquisition victims, hanging.” Does this confusion introduce/form the conflict? Is it an internal conflict, or a conflict between he and “society”? Consider discussing conflict in your intro.
“This does more to intensify the tone, as does his lazing around the room.” Not quite sure what you mean here. Your next statement, that he realizes he ISNT in a tomb, seems to contradict your previous one (how can the tone, that comes from his assumption that he’s in a tomb, be intensified by the exact opposite – that he is not, after all, imprisoned in a tomb? I hope this makes sense. I think you just need to rephrase here.
“His head is hanging over the side, which I think represents how you can see something and be aware of it while still having much to learn about it.” Is this supposed to be the paradox? That he’s aware and unaware all at once, familiar but alien to his surroundings and predicament? If so, you’ll need to state as much explicitly. I think you’re on the right track.
A lot of summary here, though (for example: “He awakes to more bread and water, which he devours again, but then notices something off and passes out again. He concludes, after waking up in the room to find it is now dimly lit, that the water must have been drugged. He is startled when he realizes he is tied to a board, and confused by the 'time' on the ceiling.” ) You’re not dealing actively with ambiguity, tension, or irony. Without using the language and explaining exactly what’s ambiguous or ironic, it comes across as summary rather than analysis.
“This was represented by a pendulum” – so the pendulum is a concrete symbol of a constantly “swinging” mindset. Great observation, but again, state directly.
“He then notices rats eating his small amount of food, giving a 'final' feel to the end of the poem.” How does rats eating food = finality? This claim requires explanation.
“He also notices upon further inspection that the pendulum is a scythe moving closer to him every second. This might represent how humans see obstacles in their life, slowly coming to pass them, but really we have plenty of time to prepare.” This is also a great claim, but do stay away from “might be” – just say it is. Once you’ve identified symbols, you’ll need to connect them to something larger (ideally paradox. How do symbols help introduce/sustain/solve the paradox?)
“The pendulum retracts into the ceiling, showing that when you think you're alone, you have to think twice.” Not following you here. How does retraction of an object = “must think twice”?
“this goes to show that when all hope is lost, sometimes it's worth it to hold on those last few seconds.” This claim would be effective in your conclusion, when you’re dealing with timelessness/overarching human appeal of a text. As is, it isn’t linked to the solving of a paradox, so I imagine it’s intended for the conclusion.
You’ve got some great claims here; they just really need to be anchored to the major elements of New Criticism. As is, you have an analysis of symbolism in the story, but not New Criticism exactly. Really work on developing paradox and its resolution, then tying the symbolism into this larger element, and you’ll be on the right track.
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