Edgar Allan Poe A Symbol Of Sin Essay

Sin is a terrible thing. It can destroy anything it touches such as relationships, a man and his morals, and even his will to live. With this topic in mind and through various symbols, Poe shows the reader, man’s plight against sin and how it can torment him to the point of breaking. In this thrilling insight to the interesting mind of Poe we see how a man can win against his naturally desire to fall into temptation.

I believe that when Poe was writing this story he was searching his soul. He wanted to finding that higher power to give him peace. He also wanted to show how afflicted and twisted the human mind could be. By presenting the number seven on multiply occasions he was saying that some people seeing this as a holy number. The main
character saw seven holy angles at the beginning of the story but they soon faded from sight taking all hope of his survival with them. Also he saw seven white candles flickering in the dark. These candles represent the seven deadly sins. This is implying that our main character has done something very unforgivable in the sight all the holy catholic church.

We are introduced to these men who are conducting our characters trial. They are described to us as large pale figures that are wearing long black robes. This symbolizes the grim reaper. We are made to believe from the start that this man is destined to die a gruesome and undignified death. When he comes to after seeing these visions of what happened to him he is too frighted to open his eyes. He keeps them closed for what seems like an eternity. When he finally gets enough courage he sticks out his hand and it falls on a cold, wet stone floor. He decides to open his eyes still in fear that he will be in total darkness. His fears are true for when he opens his eyes he is in total darkness. He stands to gain a knowledge of his surroundings and was one hundred paces it seems to be around his cell. He finally gets tired and passing out the next day he decides to walk start across the cell. In doing so he trips on his robe and falls. When he does so his body falls on solid ground but his face is suspended in air. He backed up slowly and found a rock and threw it into the pit. It bounced of the walls for a very long time and then fells to the bottom. He decided that it would be a very long death. So he stayed against the wall. Every night when he fell someone placed a pitcher of water and a piece of bread beside him for when he woke up. The next morning when he woke up and drank the water he immediately passed out.

The next time he woke up he estimated that he had been drugged.
When he tried to move around he finds that he has been bound except for his left arm. There is a heavily sliced piece of meat layer beside him in arms reach but no water. Rats are steadily coming up from the pit and going this way and that not giving a care about him. He looks up and sees a funny object floating above him but and it gets closer he realizes that it is a pendulum. He tries to wither himself free. When this fails he begins to think. He realizes that if he rubs what is left of the meat on the cords that are around his body the rats will come and eat the ropes. So he does just that. When he is free he ducks out of the way. After a few more swings the pendulum just stops and raises out of sight. He realizes that someone has been watching him. He falls asleep and awakes to a light he can finally see where he is he is in a very small cell and the pit is at center of it. He soon sees that the walls are made of iron and that it is not light but fire that is burning behind the walls. The walls start to close in all around him pushing him towards the pit. Where he will fall to his death. At the last second when he thinks that everything is lost the french invaded the prison and saved him at the last moment before he was pushed into his last
sin.

This whole work by Edgar Allen Poe was a huge symbol for sin, hell, and the devil. You can go back and see various things such as, “Was I left to perish of starvation in this subterranean world of darkness; or what fate, perhaps even more fearful, awaited me? That the result would be death, and a death of more than customary bitterness, I knew too well the character of my judges to doubt.” (Poe, 7). Poe was trying to convey to the writing that sin is a crucial part of the human life. Without sin we would not have a reason to seek a higher power. Poe was showing us that man’s plight against sin can be overcome if we do not let it overtake us. So I present my original question again. Can man’s plight against sin be won, and if so why does it break us so badly?