The Plague and the Pit by Edgar Allan Poe - Essay Example

? Due The Plague and the Pit Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 and died in 1849. In this short span of40 years he was renowned for his skills as a poet and for developing the potential power of the short story. He is remarked to have invented both the detective story and science fiction tales (Frank 1). Today, most fans perceive him as the parent of the gothic genre, although his works are quite different from the far more graphic violence prevalent in modern examples of the genre today ("The Pit and the Pendulum"). He has a profound way of presenting a story that pulls you in, both in his gift of language and in his understanding of what is frightening to people, all people on some level. “The life and career of Edgar Allan Poe can be a hall-of-mirrors like experience. There are many Poes” (Frank 1). Attempting to compare and contrast his works is no less of an experience. This is true of his short stories “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Although they share certain elements, they both remain unique examples unto themselves. “The Masque of the Red Death” is set in the midst of a horrific plague that has decimated the population of Prince Prospero’s land. Instead of aiding the victims dying outside, he decides to throw an extravagant masked gala for him and his wealthy, noble friends. They lock themselves inside and block out the horror outside and revel in decadence and frivolous disregard. Prospero believes in his actions that this will keep him safe. When Death makes himself known, Prospero is offended at the affront. The Prince and all of his guests died that night (Poe 319-323). This story reminds us brilliantly of the certainty of death and the futility of attempting to escape it. In this Poe fulfilled his traditional writing style of being both “…direct and straightforward” ("The Pit and the Pendulum"). “The Pit and the Pendulum” is the story of a man known only as the Prisoner, trapped, drugged, and bound to a table as the blade of the pendulum swings closer and closer. Even when he frees himself from the table, the walls are heated and close in around him. Then, just in time, he is rescued (Poe). Given these brief summaries, one might conclude that these stories have very little in common. One blatantly cautions that you cannot cheat death; in the other the Prisoner escapes what appears to be inevitable death, which is quite uncommon of Poe works (" The Pit and the Pendulum"). One takes place at a lavish party, the other in a dark dungeon. One involves the presence of Death itself, while the other involves the mechanized torments of man’s making. Yet, these stories do share similarities that are worth noting. One thing that these stories have in common has nothing to do with the characters or plot; it has more to do with the similar and profound effect they have on those who read them. “Poe was a genius at understanding the some of the deepest fears and anxieties of human beings” ("The Pit and the Pendulum"). In both stories he has created almost a rhythm imparting that something horrible is about to happen. This impending sense of doom is felt throughout. In “Masque of the Red Death” it is almost palpable and in some ways appropriate. Any conscientious reader may potentially think that Prospero and his guests may deserve to pay for their frivolous behaviors. In “The Pit and the Pendulum” we feel that same sense of foreboding and yet, we seem to sympathize with the Prisoner, which is interesting since we know nothing about him. We have no idea of his crimes, the reason for his imprisonment, and yet we are moved by his torment and fear (" The Pit and the Pendulum"). These stories also, surprisingly, share elements of the setting. However, decor may alter many readers’ perception of it. The Prisoner in “The Pit and the Pendulum” is in a cell, being tortured both physically and psychologically – a far cry from the gala being held by Prospero. However, the Prince and all of his guests have locked themselves inside, while outside death and disease most certainly wait. Fear will keep them inside; they dare not leave without the possibility of being infected. A prison is a prison, whether it is chains and cold stone or soft pillows and silk draperies (Womack). Human beings react strongly to any kind of forced confinement. J.P. Morgan, American financer of the time, stated that Poe, “…spoke about himself as if he were the victim of a preordained damnation” (qtd. in Frank). Poe had a sense of the grimmer side of the supernatural divine. In both of these stories, there is a slight religious overtone. By far that is much more apparent in “The Pit and the Pendulum,” in that the Prisoner is charged and condemned by the Inquisitors – an order of religious zealots seeking to rid the world of evil as they saw it. Not to mention that when the walls heat up and start to close in on the Prisoner, the eyes of the demonic images on the wall glow red as if they are coming for him (Poe). However, these elements are also present in “The Masque of the Red Death.” The party goers are locked inside a monastery where there are seven decorated rooms. Seven is a relevant number in religious myth. There are seven deadly sins, of which Prospero’s guests have broken most, if not all, of them in the course of their negligent disregard and self-indulgent celebration. Finally the most significant similarity that these stories share is the fear of the unknown, the unseen, which resonates deeply with all human beings. The loss of your senses or being put in the position of not being able to use them can be completely petrifying to some people. In “The Pit and the Pendulum” the Prisoner is in pitch darkness, unable to identify his surroundings, the sounds he hears, or what else may be lurking in the darkness. In “The Masque of the Red Death” it, too, is something unseen that stalks the living, in this case it is disease. Disease cannot be seen or heard until it is upon you, and you certainly cannot reason with it. In these examples Poe has found different but very effective ways to illicit the same kind of fear that is natural to all people. Edgar Allan Poe had a short and turbulent life. He was a man who experienced great losses; he suffered from inescapable alcoholism, which ultimately contributed to his death. The nature of his life may have helped him develop his close relationship with darker thoughts and the grimmer side of the supernatural. Walt Whitman, a famous American writer, once said of Poe, “He preferred the cracked torment of his own mind, which he projected as the dungeons and caskets as stultifying containers of his work” (qtd. in O’Grady). The literary world should be grateful that he did. Without Poe we would have lost out on the origins of an entire genre. There are not too many people that cannot quote that famous line from the Raven, “Nevermore.” Poe had an ability to reach into the core of what is eerie, disturbing, and frightening, using just words and descriptions without the inclusion of the gratuitous violence of what we perceive as a “scary movie” today. One researcher said that Poe had “…the power to create the delicious but harmless sense of momentary horror” ("The Pit and the Pendulum"). It is in this that, ultimately, binds not just these stores but all of Poe’s works within this genre. Works Cited Frank, Michael. "Underestimate Poe's Legacy? Nevermore." New York Times 19 Mar 1999. Web. 30 May. 2012. < http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/19/books/underestimate-poe-s-legacy-nevermore.html>. O'Grady, Jim. "City Lore; Fear! Dread! Torment! Why Poe's fans are Obsessive." New York Times 18 Feb 2001. Web. 30 May. 2012. . Perkins, First. American Literature Before the Civil War. Create ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011: 306-308, 319-323. Print. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Novel Summaries and Analysis. N.p., 01 Jan 2009. Web. 30 May 2012. . Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." The Literary Page. N.p., 1842. Web. 30 May 2012. < http://www.literaturepage.com/read/pitandthependulum.html> Womack, Martha. "Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death." The Poe Decoder. N.p., 1997. Web. 30 May 2012. . Read More