Week Ten - William Wilson

William Wilson

This is not the best written story, but it has influenced so many people. I will not go into that (but I'll let you read my paper about it if you like!) but I will say... it's amazing this piece was so influential.

Wilson (not his real name) is convinced that there is an exact copy of himself that has been following him around. Wilson number 2 shows up at his boarding school unexpectedly, and it turns out they have the same features and even the same birthday. When I first read that, I knew that Wilson number 1 was a little crazy.

By the end, Wilson number 2 shows up and Wilson number 1 stabs him. But Wilson number 2 isn't really there, he has stabbed himself and doesn't realize that it was all in his head.

Fight Club, anyone?

Week Nine - The Masque of the Red Death

The Masque of the Red Death

This was a quite enjoyable story. I really liked how the rooms were in all different colors, and how they could be an interpretation of the cycle of life. The rooms go from east to west, and can symbolize birth to death.

This short shows that no matter who you are or how much money you have that death will come for you and it will have you. There is no escaping death, no matter if you look yourself and 100 other people in an abbey. Everyone dies in this story, and it's one of the reasons I love it. They were selfish bastards who thought they were better than everyone else and they learned that they were, in fact, not.

Week Eight - Cask of Amontillado & Fall of the House of Usher

The Cask of Amontillado

This is one of the stories I greatly enjoy by Poe. The narrator is confessing a crime he committed fifty years ago. He was never caught, I'm not sure he was even a suspect. I noticed that in this short story the narrator actually has a name, Montresor. Poe doesn't seem to like to name his narrators much, so this surprised me a bit. Anyway, yes, Montresor is sly and quite bright in his way of killing Fortunato. He makes sure to clear his house of employees, and he leads the victim to the basement. My favorite part of the story is where Fortunato says "I will not die of a cough" and Montresor agrees with him. Love the irony. Fortunato does not die of a cough, but of being buried alive - not in the ground but in a wall. I love the image of this - maybe I'm morbid but that's how I roll. The thought of a man dressed as a jester, chained to a wall and then brick by brick he disappears into nothingness. Does anyone miss him? Does anyone even care?

The Fall of the House of Usher

This story has always been one that has stuck with me. The story of twins that die in a house that seemingly wants to swallow them whole is a story that one can't really forget. Until we discussed the story in class, I never gave the relationship between brother and sister a thought. I mean, I thought they were close. I didn't think they were committing incest, however, but little tidbits from the story seem to support that. Gross.

I love haunted house stories, and this is a different kind of haunted house story. There are no ghosts trying to scare people, just the house itself willing it's evil on it's inhabitants. It eventually kills the Usher twins, and kills their lineage as well. When this happens, the house falls as well, as if it's only want or need was to effectively kill the Usher name.

Week Seven - The Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum

What an awesome story. Even thought we're told at the beginning that the narrator is writing the events he experienced, the reader can't help but feel nervous and anxiety for him. I felt myself wondering if the narrator would live when obviously he did. It's very awesome how Poe achieved that affect within the story.

The story really shook me, if it's historically accurate. I know the Spanish Inquisition was not a pleasant experience, but did they really torture people like this? It seems so horrible that they would want someone to just lose their mind before killing them. That poor man - what could he have done to warrant such treatment? Poe, you once again frighten me.

Week Six - The Purloined Letter and The Tell Tale Heart

The Purloined Letter

The main thing I liked about this tory was the quote Dupin left in the duplicate letter for the Minister. I think the quote really says a lot about Dupin, especially when you know what it's about. I knew the basic gist of Atres and Thyestes but when Dr. Kiddie elaborated on it in class, well it struck me. I really wanted to know what the Minister did to Dupin because that is one powerful story to quote from.

Anyway, I liked the story for what it was - a detective story. I liked how everyone was being sneaky in plain sight. Well, the Minister and Dupin. Dupin really turned the tables on the Minister by doing ot him what he did to the Queen. What goes around comes around.

The Tell Tale Heart

So far this is one of my favorite Poe stories. I love how the narrator claims he isn't mad yet by the end of the story he's all crazy. I love the style of narration - it feels like the narrator is talking directly to the reader trying to convince the reader of his sanity. I've always felt like he was talking to a psychiatrist but it can really be taken either way. It adds to the intrigue of the story not knowing whom the narrator is really addressing.

I never thought to read this story from the viewpoint that the old man doesn't exist. Now that I have, I like it even more. It just makes the narrator seem that much more crazy in a special way. Just thinking that the narrator made up the old man makes you wonder what it is about himself that he wants to kill. It's a total metaphor. Maybe he wanted to kill himself but he couldn't, so he concocted this old man and when the police come they realize the narrator has gone bat shit crazy and they lock him up.

Week Five - MS Found in a Bottle and The Gold Bug

MS Found in a Bottle

I am honestly not a fan of this story. I'm not big into ships or anything so this really didn't hold my attention very well. I looked this story up and found that some people thought this story was supposed to be satire but I'm not sure. Was Poe really that against stories about the sea? I don't know, but I don't think I would be surprised. Anyway. The only thing I liked about this story was reading it as a supernatural story... it would explain how the ship gets bigger, why the people on the ship don't see the narrator, etc.
If this story is read as realistic, then it makes no sense. There's no way random brush strokes on a canvas will spell out "Discovery" or that the narrator would have been able to write everything down and stick it in a bottle at the end of the story. Those are just two of things that jump out at me. I like to think of this as a haunted ship story and will keep it like that in my head.

The Gold Bug

This is one story that I did not think I would like but was pleasantly surprised by it. I loved how Poe set the story up and we didn't really know what was happening until the end. He wrote it in such a way that you want to keep reading to find out what is going on.
I'm not sure how much I liked how Poe portrayed Jupiter. I realize that Poe portrayed the three main characters in three different ways and everything, but the fact that he made Jupiter so stupid bugged me. Not all slaves, free or not, were that dumb. Was Poe trying to make a point about slavery with this character? Perhaps. I hate to think that he would think so lowly of a person, though.
One thing I truly love about this story is that there's no murder, it's purely adventure. We don't know we're looking for treasure until it's found... but it's not like we're looking for a murderer or anything. I found myself more into the story because I wasn't sure what Lerand was doing and I liked that. I liked that mystery, I liked that intrigue.

Week Four - Lionizing, Ligeia, and Morella

Lionizing

This is amazing. I never realized what a sense of humor Poe had... or that he was kind of perverted. I do realize he is using satire to make a point, and I appreciate that. Had I read this short story back when it was first written/published, I am sure I would have gotten it right away. As it was, I read this in the year 2009 and had to look up a bunch of stuff and I still didn't get that he wasn't actually referring to nosology. Upon my third reading of the story, and replacing "nose" with "penis" this story became so much better. I thought I would die of laughter, and I have to be honest: totally impressed with Poe. He comes off as a very dark, depressing person but this short just goes to show that he has a sense of humor and isn't as dark and scary as people seem to think.

Ligeia

This is the first time I have read Ligeia and it was trippy. There is a theme of resurrection in this that is very creepy. Ligeia is someone the narrator is married to and of course she dies. He seemed to love her very much, though he had no idea what her last name was. How does one miss that information? That is really confusing to me. Anyway, he ends up remarrying someone who seems to be Ligeia's exact opposite. Her name is Rowena. The narrator seems to hate Rowena and I get the impression that he tortures her because of this. When Rowena dies, the narrator watches her come back to life... but the body seems to transform and become Ligeia. The narrator is most likely happy as all get out since he loved Ligeia more than Rowena.

Morella

This story seems very simple to me. Morella is pregnant and dying, but the narrator only lets on that he knows she is dying. I don't know how he doesn't know she's pregnant, but a lot of people don't think much of it. He wants Morella to die, too, he doesn't really care for her. Morella knows she is dying and tells her husband that she will live on after her death. She dies giving birth, and the baby does not breathe until Morella is dead.
According to the text, the child grows faster than normal and even shows signs of having adult powers and the faculties of a woman. All signs point to Morella inhabiting the child. The narrator loves the child though, which I find to be the only normal thing about the man (you know, that he actually loves his kid). This changes though when he finally names her... he names her Morella and when she is named she yells out "I am here!" So... by being named she is really reincarnated into the child. Then she dies (we don't know how but I think that the narrator killed her) and when he puts her in the tomb he sees that there is nothing left of the first Morella. That could be for a few reasons... my favorite one being that the daughter was truly Morella reborn and that the body was just... gone.