Death, Justice and Edgar Allen Poe

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Poe as a writer dwelt much in the madness and morbidity of man and how he enjoyed writing about loss, pain and lies, as these were the emotions with which he was most familiar. In particular, the paper looks at "The Black Cat", which tells of a man driven to murder by his unexplainable hatred for his pet black cat. In the dark recesses of his twisted mind, he found relief in the gruesome passing of his wife with the loss of his reviled pet. The paper also looks at "The Masque of the Red Death", which tells of a plague that has purged the world and murdered everything in its path, killing without qualm and pity, not distinguishing between race, age, gender or social status.

From the Paper:

"In both stories, man's darkest nature was revealed. First is that selfishness runs deep in our veins. Prince Prospero paid no attention to the devastation brought by the Red Death outside his castle walls. As long as he had everything his heart desired inside, he felt safe and secured from the fate of a terrible death in the hands of an unrelenting plague. This thinking is foolish at best, for no one can escape Death. Death cannot be stopped by walls, doors or barricades. This lesson was learned the hard way by Prince Prospero and his dominions."

More papers on Death, Justice and Edgar Allen Poe:

• Analytical Essay # 136373 : "Death, Female Characters and Edgar Allen Poe"
• Research Paper # 95439 : "Edgar Allen Poe"
• Analytical Essay # 62509 : "Edgar Allen Poe: Forever Locked in Memory"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: