Edgar Allen Poe's Tales

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses themes employed by Edgar Allan Poe, such as reincarnation, perversity and retribution and/or revenge. The paper shows how Poe was fascinated with the mysterious and the macabre and knew about human psychology. The paper conveys the descriptive narration in "The Black Cat" and "The Masque of the Red Death". The paper discusses how these two tales represent the genius of Edgar Allan Poe as a writer and master of the supernatural, the strange and the bizarre.

From the Paper:

"The Black Cat" appears to contain a number of themes that fascinated its author Edgar Allan Poe, such as reincarnation, perversity (i.e. a form of weirdness) and retribution and/or revenge. In the tale itself, Poe mentions that the main protagonist (an unnamed narrator) has experienced "a series of mere household events" that have "tortured" and destroyed him (234), due to having Pluto, a black cat, as a pet, a most beautiful animal, coal-black all over, taken in by the narrator and his wife. This unknown narrator, perhaps Poe himself, seems to have a serious problem with alcohol, for he states that at times he is driven insane with drink and ends up doing things that go against his morals. He calls alcohol "the Fiend Intemperance" which means that alcohol, at least for the narrator, is like a fiend or a demon that attacks the mind and leads to utter destruction."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Poe, Edgar Allan. 50 Tales by Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Random House, 1998.

More papers on Edgar Allen Poe's Tales:

• Analytical Essay # 8827 : "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe"
• Term Paper # 75028 : "Edgar Allen Poe"
• Analytical Essay # 67914 : "Narrators in the Works of Edgar Allen Poe "

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