Edgar Allan Poes Life

He married Elizabeth after the death of her first husband in 1805. Edgar’s mother died in 1811 when he was 2 years old (Roger 71). She had separated from her husband and taken the children with her. Edgar ended up being adopted by Mr. and Mrs. While in the army, he performed very well and even got promoted to a sergeant major. He entered West Point as a cadet in 1830. His writing career began in 1831 though things did not start off well. His works were regularly rejected by various magazines. Things, however, started going well in 1835 when he was employed as an editor. People will, however, think he is crazy once they hear the story of how he murdered an old man because of his vulture eye. He, however, believes he couldn't be crazy because of the way he carried out the murder.

He goes ahead and narrates the story to the audience. He was however forced to confess the murder to policemen in the end. The fall of The Houses of Usher The story involves a visitor being invited to the Usher's house by his childhood friend. On the other hand, Roderick Usher from The Fall of the Houses of Usher is extremely mentally ill to an extent that his senses have become unbearably painful. The narrators also spend most of the time convincing the readers that they are not crazy. Another similarity is that the number of characters in these stories is limited. Poe’s writing style is gothic. He uses suspense in his stories which are mainly horror, for instance, the fall of the houses of Usher. He purposefully creates tension by using dashes.

He joins multiple phrases together by using semicolons. As seen in the three stories, Poe’s recurring theme is about death. The stories involve questions together with thoughts that revolve around death. The narrators are concerned about the dead and mourn them. His life was very depressing thus inspiring his dark stories. His writings reflect his upbringing: that is my thesis statement. His works illuminate his upbringing because he had an extremely dark and hard childhood. He never got the chance to experience love from his parents. He, therefore, drew similarities between the world and his life. The stories he wrote during this period of drinking usually has an alcoholic character for example, in the Cask of Amontillado. The victim of the story (Fortunato) is drunk. This intoxication is what allows the murderer (Montresor) to overpower him.

He is chained to a stone and therefore trapped forever. Poe’s horrible life is also reflected in the Cask of Amontillado in another way. Poe’s life experiences are seen in this story. Undoubtedly, Poe’s state of mind is incorporated. He had thoughts of death and reflected on paranormal abilities which he regularly used in his stories. He was using supernatural characteristics as a way of escaping reality. Thoughts of depression constantly flooded his mind. Memories of his dead mother and wife flood his mind. This is shown in the story when Usher buries his sister. He protects himself from abandonment and loss, represented by her. Poe’s works had a great influence on American and also international literature. He is one of the originators of horror fiction. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Pp 101- 104 Roger, M. Crisp. Examining the Life of Edgar Allan Poe. The Literature Journal.