Comparing Time In The Pit And The Pendulum, By Edgar Allan Poe

The pressure of time is crucial in both works, as both narrators race against time to save themselves or others. In the Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator is strapped to a strange contraption, with a deadly pendulum descending towards him. The pendulum is lowering an unhurried rate as it states in the article, "It might have been half an hour, perhaps even an hour, (for in cast my I could take but imperfect note of time) before I again cast my eyes upward. What I then saw confounded and amazed me. The sweep of the pendulum had increased in extent by nearly a yard"(Poe, E. A. Web). Each swing, the narrator is in awe by the motion of the pendulum, that now it is a distraction towards his fear in death, as he explains, "I fancied that I saw it in motion. In an instant
The notorious Joker is constantly giving him a new task to complete in a certain amount of time - it could be hours, days, or even weeks. This restriction of time leads Batman to constantly be on his feet, and now he is having the decision of a life time -it is the choice between life or death. His first and most important choice was who gets to live on, the district attorney Harvey Dent or his Fiancé Rachel Dawes, who is also a good friend of Batman. Batman thought about Harvey Dent before this scene, as he believed Dent could solve all of Gotham's problems, needing no hero. His decision had to be fast as they only had five minutes to choose either or. His beliefs about Dent were set aside, and he went to save his past lover and good friend Rachel Dawes, while the police department went to get Harvey Dent. Of course, it was a set up by the Joker, he sent them Dent's location rather than Rachel Dawes. This devastated Batman, the police department, and Harvey Dent; consequently this also brought a new villain in the film - Two Face, who is Harvey Dent after getting his face burned during his