Social Influences In Edgar Allan Poe's Life

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Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet and writer. He is predominantly known for his stories of horror and mystery and made his biggest mark in the genre of gothic fiction. Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. He died at the early age of 40 from unknown causes (Edgar Allan Poe Biography.com). Even though he died early, his legacy will live on forever. His life was one of many sorrows and difficulties, filled with deaths and broken relationships. Poe could not be stopped from becoming a successful man. Poe lead a troubled life, that benefitted his life work. Poe became the person he was because of his personal, cultural and social interactions within his life. Edgar Allan Poe’s personal life is somewhat unfortunate. Hopefulness is a word that one would steer away from in describing his life. His life was full of obstacles that he had to face and attempt to overcome. His parents where both actors who died before Poe was even three years old. His father left the family early in Poe’s life, and his mother passed away from tuberculosis (Edgar Allan Poe Biography.com). Killis Campbell, a literary critic, said “Few writers have lived a life so full of struggle and disappointment, …show more content…

He was very familiar with slavery because of his upbringing in Richmond, Virginia, a town that was very important to the slave trade. He largely distanced himself from the politics and culture of this time. He spent no time or energy defending slavery or the cotton culture. He was considered to be a racist because he was just as committed to the inferiority of non-whites as any other white American man (Edgar Allan Poe’s Religion and Political Views). A biographer, Kenneth Silverman, said “Poe disapproved of abolition, and truly believed black people were inferior” (Silverman). This shows that Poe’s racist actions were not an act to fit into the culture of this time, but were his true

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