Blog post #2 The Pit and the Pendulum Lee bowen

In the short story "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe there is a big essence of death throughout story. Poe tells the readers about a person who is stuck in a prison in Toledo being tortured. In the beginning the man in the story is telling us about these judges looking over him deciding his fate. He then perceives to drift off in a sort of slumber and awakens in a room covered with metal walls and stone floors. There in this room is where his fate has been decided for him. He stumbles across a pit that seems to be an endless abyss in the middle of the room. Then while lying down on the cold damp floor he gazes up to see a pendulum slowly making its way back and forth toward him. His thoughts over take him wondering which death would be more suitable. Even though he decides the pit is too much and that at least facing the pendulum there is a glance of hope to escape. While death seems to be inevitable, he still uses his mind to come up with solutions. This story brings out the importance of hope and how it affects our lives.
These tortures had given this prisoner the option to either end his life with the pit or let it come to him by the pendulum. Instead of thinking there is no way out he clasped onto a piece of hope that rose up inside him. He might have been one of many others who didn't succumb to the fate that was set forth to them. By having something to live for over came their sense of fear and created thought. Having thoughts that could or would potentially save their lives from meaningless death. Facing the pendulum was tricky and had no guarantees of victory but if one does not take the chance then they will not know what comes next. The prisoner came up with a plan to wait until the moment when the pendulum had already cut through the straps that enabled his freedom. Then he would leap out of the way before it struck too deep in his flesh. Coming up with plans or solutions to a problem can save us from what might be the inevitable. As long as there is hope inside of us then there is always a way out.