Monday, March 20, 2017

How does the prisoner escape the descending pendulum?

The way the prisoner in "The Pit and the Pendulum" escapes from the pendulum is one of the most memorable moments in literature. The man is bound by cloth bands to a low table as a razor sharp swinging pendulum drops ever so gradually toward him. He has been given a dish of savory meat but no water in order to increase his discomfort. He can reach to his side to grab the food from...

The way the prisoner in "The Pit and the Pendulum" escapes from the pendulum is one of the most memorable moments in literature. The man is bound by cloth bands to a low table as a razor sharp swinging pendulum drops ever so gradually toward him. He has been given a dish of savory meat but no water in order to increase his discomfort. He can reach to his side to grab the food from the plate, but otherwise he cannot move because of his bonds. When the pendulum gets almost to him, the "collected calmness of despair" allows him to think up a plan. He realizes that the bands are only cloth; when a rat bites his hand, it makes him think how "wild, bold, ravenous" they are. Taking the meat from his dish, he "thoroughly rubbed the bandage wherever I could reach it." He has been constantly shooing the rats away until now, but now he lies "breathlessly still." That makes the rats think he has died. They swarm upon the man, first chewing the bonds that he rubbed the meat on. He has to lie absolutely still while they are swarming all over him, even on his face, so they will finish their work. Finally he senses the bonds have been chewed through. The pendulum has swung so low that it has actually cut through his robe. Before its next swing, he shoos the rats off him and slides off the table, avoiding the pendulum. He is free! But not for long, of course. The pendulum is drawn up, and the inquisitors put the next method of torture into motion.

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