The Spanish Inquisition Expository Essay
Robert Pasco
Ms. Weiss
English 11 – P.9
14, November 2012
The Pointless Spanish Inquisition
Its deathly dark and you violently realize, with the groans in the distance, that you are waiting to be put to death for what you fervently believe. You weren’t the only one in this situation, there were many others; this was all due to the Spanish Inquisition. This was a hard time for all non-believers of the Catholic faith. You were either forced to admit to a false “sin” and turn to the Catholic faith or be tortured to death as an act to “purify” Spain. Throughout The Pit and the Pendulum, there were various types of torture that were both cruel and unusual. There were also many cases of victims losing their mind while in captivity. One of the most important questions in The Pit and the Pendulum was that if all of this was even happening to the individual in the story or if they were just dreaming of events that might come to be.
The Inquisitor-General would do anything to convert a person to Catholicism; if simply asking didn’t work, various forms of torture were used to convert them. One of the most important forms of torture was containment. This would leave the victim in constant confusion as he or she waited for what was to come. Another form of torture was the pendulum; this scythe-like pendulum would swing back and forth while slowly dropping towards the victim to scare them by leaving them with the choice to convert or die. (Poe, Edgar Allen. The Pit and the Pendulum P.269, Columbus: McGraw-Hill 2009) This form of torture was cruel and forced a person to choose between life or death. In addition to being severely hurt due to the torture and containment, some had even lost their mind.
Due to what these individuals were going through, they would start to lose their mind while realizing that there was no hope for survival. In the story ,The Pit and the Pendulum, the individual was starting to go crazy, he had just avoided death and was so unstrung that he
Ms. Weiss
English 11 – P.9
14, November 2012
The Pointless Spanish Inquisition
Its deathly dark and you violently realize, with the groans in the distance, that you are waiting to be put to death for what you fervently believe. You weren’t the only one in this situation, there were many others; this was all due to the Spanish Inquisition. This was a hard time for all non-believers of the Catholic faith. You were either forced to admit to a false “sin” and turn to the Catholic faith or be tortured to death as an act to “purify” Spain. Throughout The Pit and the Pendulum, there were various types of torture that were both cruel and unusual. There were also many cases of victims losing their mind while in captivity. One of the most important questions in The Pit and the Pendulum was that if all of this was even happening to the individual in the story or if they were just dreaming of events that might come to be.
The Inquisitor-General would do anything to convert a person to Catholicism; if simply asking didn’t work, various forms of torture were used to convert them. One of the most important forms of torture was containment. This would leave the victim in constant confusion as he or she waited for what was to come. Another form of torture was the pendulum; this scythe-like pendulum would swing back and forth while slowly dropping towards the victim to scare them by leaving them with the choice to convert or die. (Poe, Edgar Allen. The Pit and the Pendulum P.269, Columbus: McGraw-Hill 2009) This form of torture was cruel and forced a person to choose between life or death. In addition to being severely hurt due to the torture and containment, some had even lost their mind.
Due to what these individuals were going through, they would start to lose their mind while realizing that there was no hope for survival. In the story ,The Pit and the Pendulum, the individual was starting to go crazy, he had just avoided death and was so unstrung that he