The Essence of Poe's Genius in One Quote

Today’s literary quote of the day involves the master of suspense and a student favorite with young scholars. It’s from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.”

Set the scene: The narrator finds himself in a dungeon, strapped on a board as a scythe slowly descends. He realizes that unless he escapes from the bands that secure him, the scythe will slice him in two at the heart. That’s when he comes up with a clever, yet disgusting plan, to rub the food he has nearby on the straps to attract the resident rats to come chew the straps.

Let’s talk about the power of positive thinking. You have to admit the narrator finds himself in one heckuva bad situation, yet he continues to think of a way out. Most people would have given up by now, but not our narrator.

So in what ways are you giving up? What if we succeeded and tried no matter what?

Links