Poe and Bradbury

Paper Summary:

This paper first discusses "Usher II", a chapter of "The Martian Chronicles", where Ray Bradbury alludes to many of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, notably "The Cask of Amontillado". The paper then discusses how "The Cask of Amontillado" is not only a literal descent into a catacomb, but also a journey into the mind's subjectivity to insanity and the grotesque images that lie safely behind closed eyes. The paper contrasts this to Bradbury's Mr. Stendahl and his obsession with great works that have been long forgotten. The paper shows how in both works the role of the double is important.

From the Paper:

"In "Usher II", a chapter of The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury alludes to many of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. The Cask of Amontillado is a tale that is directly referred to as Mr. Stendahl descends into a disturbed mentality, just as Poe's narrator. For both Bradbury and Poe, the house, the replica and the tomb leads to insanity and a downward spiral into a realm of the gothic. During a time when the Earth could be seen from afar as only a blazing orb breaking into jigsaw pieces, it may have been difficult to remember the names of great writers like Poe or have the concentration to understand his allegory and psychoanalytical approach to story telling. The further we move away from the Earth, as the people in Ray Bradbury's, The Martian Chronicles attempt to do, the more things like censorship and war become like a dream."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baym, Nina, ed. The Norton Anthology American Literature B. 7th ed. New York: Norton and Company, 2007.
• Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. New York: Bantam Books, 1946.

More papers on Poe and Bradbury:

• Book Review # 148858 : "Themes in Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles"
• Essay # 58386 : "Edgar Allan Poe: An Artist's Inspiration"
• Analytical Essay # 119744 : "Poe and the American Gothic"

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