Monday, February 13, 2017

Horror Book Selection

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum
First published in 1842

Summary:
A man whose name we are not given wakes up in a cold dark dank chamber.  He is unaware of where he is at or how he arrived at such a bleak place.  His memory is recalling the black robbed men and the surreal dreadful situation that lead him to this chamber. When he awakes from these disturbing images he finds himself in a ghastly environment.  He tries to focus on his current situation debating within his fragile mind whether he is in the dungeons at Toledo or has died.  After finally accepting his fate of being in a dungeon the man is put through different agonizing tortures as he slips in and out of consciousness due to his exhaustion and being drugged by his captures.  Can this unnamed man escape from his mental and physical torture or will the wild ravenous rats and deadly blade of the pendulum seal his gruesome end?



Characteristics of Horror within this Story:
Mood/Tone: The tone of this story is very bleak and disturbing.  It gives a hopeless feeling of despair, dread, and confusion as the man’s past and current situation is revealed to the reader. 

Setting/Atmosphere: A dark torture chamber could be a grim setting for any story.  However, the incredible gruesome atmosphere created in this story brings the terrifying situations to life.  It makes the reader feel like he is in the dungeon with this man.  It is like the reader is experiencing the emotions and physical events of anxiety, fear, hunger, thirst, hope, and hopelessness as the character in the story.            

Language: The story is very descriptive in the way it explains the man’s dungeon chamber, situation, mental stability, and torture devices.  It brilliantly paints a mental picture of the surroundings and actions in the story.

Pace: The pacing of the story starts off slow and then builds as the man becomes more aware of his surroundings and the dire predicaments that he is in.  The pace is perfect because it allows the tension to build. 
Monsters: The names of the men in the black robes are never revealed to us.  We suspect that they are the ones who put the poor man in his horrendous situation.  However, the emotional and physical monsters presented in this story are very real.  The monsters prey on some of our common fears
·         fear of the dark
·         fear of being unaware of our surroundings
·         fear of not being in control
·         fear of falling to our death
·         fear of vicious animals
·         fear of sharp deadly objects used against us
·         fear of being tied down against our will
·         fear of the unknown

Ending: At the end the man is saved and we realize that he was in a dungeon, because of the French Inquisition and General LaSalle becomes the savior of this poor man who was just mere seconds away from falling into the pit.


Reviews:
GoodReads gives this story 4.15/5 stars.
Crystal Hua from LA Youth states "Death can’t possibly seem more real and imminent than it does in the Pit and the Pendulum."



Similar Reads:
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Originally published 1886.

The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Originally published 1839.

The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe. Originally published 1842.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Originally published 1892.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Originally published 1898.




3 comments:

  1. Poe is always a great choice for horror. So creepy! I remember watching a video of The Yellow Wallpaper in high school and it totally horrified me. I couldn't get it out of my head for weeks. Are there any modern books that you would recommend for readers who like Poe? I have a lot of teens who like his stories, and Stephen King of course, but then I'm at a loss.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you know, I always think I've read The Pit and the Pendulum, but I never actually have. I'm not sure why I continually think I've read it. Maybe it's because it's Poe, and he's so prevalent in horror, so it's mentioned pretty often. Or, at least often enough that I remember the plot of a book I've never read. Now I think I might pick it up though. Thanks for the annotation!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful! I'm glad to see someone did a classic horror novel! Your appeals are spot on, full points!

    ReplyDelete