The Pit And The Pendulum By Edgar Allan Poe - 852 Words

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe is a well known American author whose works continue to influence literature today. His difficult life was impactful on his writing. He is mostly known for his dark writings, but he was also a talented adventure author. Poe’s past and the influence it had on his writing makes him an interesting author to research. â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† as well as â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† are two of Poe’s well known short stories. â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum† is written in a way that makes the reader feel as if he is a part of the story. â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† is an extremely suspenseful story that keeps the reader intrigued. Edgar Allan Poe’s life illustrates that personal struggles can transform into great literature. His†¦show more content†¦Growing up Poe was involved in many activities such as boxing, leaping, and Poe’s favorite, swimming. He was an outstanding swimmer. Poe once swam six miles, aga inst the tide, in the Jordan River (Silverman n. pag.). Poe was not only an amazing athlete, but he was also fluent in Latin and French. He practiced these languages and sports at the local private academies he attended (Silverman n. pag.). In Richmond, Virginia, Edgar was raised to be a business man, but he had other dreams in mind. In 1826, Edgar started college at the University of Virginia, where he began accumulating debt. He excelled in his classes, but that was short lived due to the fact that John Allan had sent him to school with only a third of the money he needed. He struggled to survive, burning his own furniture to keep him warm at night (Poemuseum.org n. pag.). Before leaving for college, he had engaged to Elmira Royster. Elmira’s father did not approve of their relationship because of their young age (Silverman n. pag.). Being the overprotective father he was, Elmira’s father disposed of the letters Poe wrote to her. Poe traveled home to see his fiancà © only to find out someone else had stolen her heart. He was devastated, but Poe decided not to give up on life, but rather to accomplish the goals he had set before him. Poe was threatened with jail time due to his $2,000 debt, therefore in