What Are The Similarities Between The Pit And The Pendulum

Taking a first look at these two short stories it seems that they have nothing in common, but surprisingly they have many similarities even though they were written by two different authors’ ” Trap of Gold “ tells a story about a man trying to defeat the urge of greed within himself. “The Pit And The Pendulum” is about a man trapped in a dungeon trying to escape death. “The Pit And The Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Trap of Gold” by Louis L'Amour have many similarities, though they were written by two different authors and involve two different time periods. One similarity between the two stories is that they both face difficulties when trying to escape death. L’Amour states, “ The blow was too weak…He was out,” Poe states,’ Death,’

Poe states,”..... It was hope that prompted the nerve to quiver - the frame to shrink. It was hope - the hope that triumphs on the rack - that whispers to the death-condemned even in the dungeons of the Inquisition.” L’Amour states, “ He had won. He had defeated the crumbling tower; he had defeated his own greed.” In “ The Pit And The Pendulum” the narrator faces himself when trying not to give up, and still have hope that he can make it out of the dungeon. Although a couple of his ideas do not work out he never gives up and eventually comes up with a good idea to get himself out. Wetherton from “Trap of Gold” faces himself , when he has a struggle between his desire for more gold or, going back to his family. The money that he is so greedy for is for his family, which makes it so difficult because he has to make the decision of saying how much gold is enough and is it worth him not seeing his family again.

Although the stories “Trap of Gold “ and “The Pit And The Pendulum” involve two different people and situations they share many similarities. In all, these three similarities show that these short stories have a lot in