"The power of thought was restored; he knew that the rope had broken and he had fallen into the stream."
My question is, why did the rope break? It is very surprising to me that with such a formal, well thought out way of executing him, it end with, of all things, the rope breaking. An epic fail on the part of the executioners. Was there a mistake that was made on their end? Or did the man cause this to happen some how? Or maybe an outsider rigged it in order to enable the man for a better chance of escape?
I love your question Madi! It is probably no surprise that I love rope, but just in case someone didn't know it: I do love playing with rope. I think your question makes sense "Why did it break?" Well, first the type of rope the executioners were using was probably made out of hemp. (Hemp is marijuana). Hemp makes some of the best rope strength wise, but it frays. Have you ever played with twine? Have you felt how it seems to come apart? That's exactly what hemp does if not well cared for. Hemp is also eaten by rodents. When the executioners tried to hang the guy, I think they grabbed a piece of rope without examining it. BIG problem. Rodents might have chewed at the rope, or the rope could have been used in a stressful situation already, compromising its integrity. When they tied the knots, secured the line, and said go, they must have not noticed that a section of the rope was compromised. Once they dropped the victim his weight must have been just enough to break the cord. That's what I think, but I have to keep telling myself that this is all just imagined in a dream, and in reality the rope didn't break. :(
ReplyDeleteIt was hemp! :)And yes, it didn't REALLY break, but could it have broken during the hanging? That's the interesting question that we will explore in class :)Good question Madi & great background info Ben!
ReplyDeleteIn reply to your question Mrs. Jones "could it(rope) have broken during the hanging" I think yes, though it is fairly unlikely, because of how strong hemp rope is.
DeleteI'm not as smart as Ben is, which is why I'm going with a conspiracy theory. (Despite my non-existant rope skills, I'm quite adept at conspiracy *evil smile*) My theory is that the man's boy infiltrated the men's rope supply, and subtly scored the rope so it would break easily, thus giving his father an opportunity to escape.
ReplyDeleteHow would have the boy gained a cess to the ropes?
DeleteI think that mice had eating the rope down to only a few threads. The executioners probably drank a lot of alcohol in order to forget their troubles. Some of the alcohol spilled on the top that they used. The mice smelled the scent of the liquor and came and chewed on the rope
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