Wednesday, March 15, 2006

The Pit and the Pendulum - Part 1

The first part of our short story a man is completely lost. He is lost in time, has no idea where he is or what had happened.

Focus on the story

What do you think had happened to him before? Why was he in court?
How did the man feel? Why?
What do you think will happen next?

Focus on the language

Definition of a pit
Did you learn any new word that you found interesting?


Well, I am really curious to see your ideas about this great story! Write them in the "comment area".

See you.
Carla

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Carla,

How sad and unhappy Allan Poe was! I am almost crying after reading his poem. I had never read nothing from him.

I think his unhapyness is because he didn't accept the fact to loose his parentes so much early. It's so hard for a child to live without her parentes kindness, specially mother's love. Even when someone takes the resposability of taking care of her, it's not enough to cover the missing real family. Many people go over this kind of trobles and become happy and glad people. But it seems it wasn't easy to him.
Adding to all problems he had in his teenage, he lost his wife so much early too. At first to the illness and than for the death.

I think it's not necessary a writer to be unhappy to write good things. Usualy unhappy people write depressive things. As much happy and glad is the person, as biger the inspiration/imagination for every kind of job.

Maybe it has been the only way he found to express his sorrow, and off course, support himself.

Kisses,

Leolita

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for puting the above coment in the wrong place. I'm just transfering it to right place.

Thanks,

Leolita

Anonymous said...

Karen

I guess he has seen a crime and he was the most important witness, so he was in a courtroom answering questions about it. However, the criminal has gotten to catch him and put him in that hiding-place.
He was very frightened because he didn't remember anything, like where he was, what did he do and what would happen with him. He was weak and very tired too.
I think that the criminal will try to kill him, but, for some reason, the criminal might not get it.

4qu4tro said...

I think he was an special person, like a son of a king, and to steal your throne a very bad and greedy man put he in a jail to force him to say the secret code of the safe that was in the castle. He will be tortured, but someone will save him.
I learn a new word, that was frightened.

Anonymous said...

Dear Carla,
this is the first story of Alan Poe that I know.
But, I guess he writes sad things because his life was also sad.
Maybe he wrote "The Pit and the Pendulum"after his wife died.
In fact he had a nigthmare in the night when he had a bad new, he couldn't believe that another tragedt had happened: my God, his wonderful wife had died too, after his daddy and his mummy.
So, after the doctor gave him some
remedy to sleep, he had a lot of nightmares.
In his inconscious, more bad things would happen, like he would in prison...
Like I said, he was in court just in his bad dream. IN fact he was just sleeping .
He felt his dream was real, his body shook with fear. It was real. His skin wasw covered with sweat. It was real.
I thing that when he will wake up this parents and his doctor will be there with him, and everybody will be worried about his situation and they will thing he wasn't good to go to the funeral's his wife. So the doctor will pick him up to the hospital to spend some days...
Poor guy.
I learned some words, like:
turn over: to run or cause (an engine) to run at lowest speed.
bury: to put in a grave
damp: to wet slighty.
For the moment, that's all.
Marilda

Anonymous said...

The man has done something very bad. He should be a kind of mago.
I believe he was being judged for the Master of Magos. There were several spirits around the court.
The big problem was than the poor man didn't remember anythink. So, he didn' fell guilt . He thought was innocent.
I believe that the man will remember everything, he will suffer and will be judge by the others magos.

Anonymous said...

I guess he was in the court for a mistake. Someone has told to the court that he was involved with a crime. The man feels lost, probably because some drug applied for he to say something about the crime. As he is innocent, the drug had no effect and in the next steps the torturers will change the methods, like some painfull ones.
I understood that pit is a deep hole where there is water in the end. I've learned several new words, but no one so special.

testecarla said...

Dear students,

You are incredibly imaginative! All possibilities are valid ones and our creativity is the limit.

Karen thought the prisoner was there by mistake. Marina mentioned that the guy might have been somebody important, like the King's son. Marilda went beyond in her belief that everything was just part of a nightmare. Kelly mentioned that the guy had done something terrible, but couldn't remember it. On the other hand, Emerson believed in the prisoner's innocence...

Who had the right guess? What's this story all about? Well, we will get to know that just by reading it all!!!

Wait for more soon.

You're doing a fantastic job. It has been a wonderful experience for me, as a teacher, to be part of this online interaction and see how much you've been improving. Amazing!!!

Carla

testecarla said...

Salejandra,

It's amazing how you can still think, write and read Poe so late at night!!!

Well, horror stories are not my favorite style too. However, I chose one that I could divide in parts in a way that each part would end in a climax. Besides, it should be a short story that was your level. Some students are really into the story and they've given me a positive feedback on it.

I can see your point and I promise I'll try to find a nice story that will please you. It's a promise!

See you in class.
Carla