The Murders In The Rue Morgue By Edgar Allan Poe

588 Words2 Pages

My favorite work of literature that I read this past semester was “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe while I disliked Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs the most. For both pieces of literature, my respective opinions of them are due to their length, characters, and plot. For me, the most enjoyable work from this past semester was Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in Rue Morgue.” This piece of work is a short story, so it is long enough to captivate my attention and allow me to become invested in the plot while being short enough that the entire work remains interesting. The story’s plot also captures my interest because the mystery aspect of the tale keeps my mind engaged while I attempt to figure out how the murders could have been committed at the same time that the story’s characters do. When Dupin hands the narrator a newspaper with …show more content…

The article from the paper, “was a minute anatomical and generally descriptive account of a large Ourang-Outang” (Poe 48). Once the possibility that an Ourang-Outang committed the crime, my mind was cleared, and I saw how he was the obvious perpetrator according to the evidence, and this realization left me in wonder. Lastly, I enjoyed this story because it contains unusual characters. For example, Dupin himself is a mysterious man, and while the story progresses, I attempt to figure out how his observational and deductive skills manage to surpass those of an average human by such a great degree. While I enjoyed Poe’s “The Murders in Rue Morgue” for its plot, characters, and length, I disliked Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs for the exact same reasons. Jacobs intended for her

Show More
Related

  • The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written by Edgar Allen Poe in the 18th century. Both of these stories are primarily focused on the mysterious and dark ways of the narrator. Since these stories were written by the same author, they tend to have several similarities such as the mood and narrative, but they also have a few differences. For instance, the characteristics of both narrators are different, but both stories portray the same idea of the narrator being obsessive over a certain thing.

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setting of a story lays the foundation for how a story is constructed. It gives a sense of direction to where the climax is headed. The setting also gives the visual feedback that the readers need to picture themselves into the story and comprehend it better. Determining the setting can be a major element towards drawing in the reader and how they relate to a story. A minor change in the plot can drastically alter to perception, interpretation, and direction of the message that is delivered. These descriptive elements can be found within these short stories: “the Cask of Amontillado”, “The Storm”, “The Things They Carried”, “Everyday Use”, and “The Story of an Hour”.

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is a chilling story about two men named Fortunato and Montresor. The story begins with a narrator voicing his anger and resentment towards a man named Fortunato for “a thousand injuries” and insults. Our narrator sees Fortunato and lures him down into his vaults, or “catacombs,” on the premise of verifying that some wine is a certain type. Fortunato was already drunk, and had a cold. Eventually, the men reach a crypt, and the narrator chains Fortunato to the wall. Not stopping there, the narrator begins to trap him in the hole by filling it with bricks. Fortunato is quiet, until the hole is nearly filled, when he screams and then tells the narrator that it was a good joke. The narrator’s name is revealed to be Montresor. Montresor calmly takes the last brick and prepares to slide it into place, but stops and listens. All he hears are the jingling of bells. Then Montresor puts in the last brick, hence sealing Fotunato’s fate. There is chilling irony woven all throughout The Cask of Amontillado. It isn’t until the end of the story that we discover the tale took place fifty years before. Montresor’s vile deed’s motivation can be largely attributed to social class, fulfilling what he considered to be “just retribution” for the unnamed insult that was given him by Fortunato.

    Read More

  • Hollywood Vs. America by Michael Medved

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book that stuck out the most to me this semester was “Hollywood Vs. America”. The reason why I seemed to disagree with this book the majority of the time was because Medved had no sound arguments or sources. The only sources he had within the book were people who basically had the same mindset and worldview as he. This book mainly stuck out to me, purely because it made me mad every time I read it. I really thought, based upon the first couple of pages, that this would be a book I would enjoy. I thought that Medved was going to have sound reasoning why he thought the movies were against American popular culture based on his opinion and the opinion of others. The book would have been great if he had had surveys of the population surrounding him; survey’s stating what the actual American population thought about certain movies, not what his opinion on what the American culture should think about these movies. I thought that would make a pretty good extended response; talking about something that made you fired up!

    Read More

  • Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl Essay

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    Incidents of the Life of a Slave Girl Essay Educating the North of the dismay of slavery through the use of literature was one strategy that led to the questioning, and ultimately, the destruction of slavery. Therefore, Harriet Jacobs’s narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is very effective in using various tactics in order to get women in the North to pay attention and question the horrifying conditions in the South. By acknowledging that not all slaveholders were inhumane, explaining the horrific abuse and punishments slaves endured, and comparing the manner in which whites and slaves spent their holidays, Jacobs’s narrative serves its purpose of arousing Northern women to take notice of the appalling conditions that tons of Southern slaves continued to endure. When you think of slavery, you think of whites controlling the black and owning them. When reading Incidents of Life as a Slave Girl, think about how she caught the audience’s attention she was trying to inflict and see the depth in meaning of slavery.

    Read More

  • Jacobs & Douglass: An Insight Into The Experience of The American Slave

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    numerous types of themes. Much of the work concentrates on the underlining ideas beneath the stories. In the narratives, fugitives and ex-slaves appealed to the humanity they shared with their readers during these times, men being lynched and marked all over and women being the subject of grueling rapes. "The slave narrative of Frederick Douglas" and "Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" themes come from the existence of the slaves morality that they are forced compromise to live. Both narrators show slave narratives in the point of view of both "men and women slaves that had to deal with physical, mental, and moral abuse during the times of slavery." (Lee 44)

    Read More

  • Harriet Jacobs' Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harriet Jacobs takes a great risk writing her trials as a house servant in the south and a fugitive in the north. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a true account of the brutality slavery held for women. A perspective that was relatively secretive during Jacobs’ time. Jacobs’ narrative focuses on subjugation due to race but it also portrays many women an strong and often open roles. Women in these roles were minimal and often suffered for their outspoken roles.

    Read More

  • American History: Colonial Period, Revolutionary Time Period and The Post-Modernism Period

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    The topic that I chose for my research paper was Pot-Modernism. I absolutely love this type of writing. It is filled with Science Fiction and Syfy-ish writings. This makes for a very interesting read and it will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. This was the only section that we read all year that I read the story all the way through and not just skim through just so I had a basic idea. I read the story from our post modernism book and not only that I also went and found the whole book and have begun reading it. This section was by far the best read that we had. Don’t get me wrong some of the other sections were really good but Post-Modernism was the most intriguing to me.

    Read More

  • The Life And Death Of Edgar Allan Poe

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was only two, so Poe was taken into the home of John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Although his middle name is often misspelled as "Allen," it is actually "Allan" after this family. After attending the Misses Duborg boarding school in London and Manor School in Stoke Newington, London, England, Poe moved back to Richmond, Virginia, with the Allans in 1820. Poe registered at the University of Virginia in 1826, but only stayed there for one year. He was estranged from his foster father at some point in this period over gambling debts Poe had acquired while trying to get more spending money, and so Poe enlisted in the United States Army as a private using the name Edgar A. Perry on May 26, 1827. That same year, he released his first book, Tamarlane and Other Poems. After serving for two years and attaining the rank of Sergeant-major, Poe was discharged. In 1829, Poe's foster mother Frances Allan died and he published his second book, Al Aaraf. As per his foster mother's deathwish, Poe reconciled with his foster father, who coordinated an appointment for him to the United States Military Academy at West Point. His time at West Point was ill-fated, however, as Poe supposedly deliberately disobeyed orders and was dismissed. After that, his foster father repudiated him until his death in March 27, 1834.

    Read More

  • A Brutal Murder In A Public Place By Joyce Carol Oates

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story “A Brutal Murder in a Public Place” by Joyce Carol Oates follows a person in an airport who hears a small bird but cannot seem to find it. Oates uses imagery and symbolism between the narrator and the bird to show how trapped and overlooked the narrator truly feels.

    Read More

  • The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    The life of Edgar Allan Poe, was stuffed with tragedies that all affected his art. From the very start of his writing career, he adored writing poems for the ladies in his life. When he reached adulthood and came to the realization of how harsh life could be, his writing grew to be darker and more disturbing, possibly as a result of his intense experimenting with opium and alcohol. His stories continue to be some of the most frightening stories ever composed, because of this, some have considered this to be the reason behind these themes. Many historians and literature enthusiasts have presumed his volatile love life as the source while others have credited it to his substance abuse. The influence of his one-of-a-kind writing is more than likely a combination of both theories; but the main factor is the death of many of his loved ones and the abuse which he endured. This, not surprisingly, darkened his perspective considerably.

    Read More

  • The Murders In The Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    What makes a short story great? Great characters? A great plot? Whatever it is, it does not have as much time to develop as a novel does. However, in limited space, author Edgar Allan Poe creates a brilliant, suspenseful, and brain wracking story. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" begins by comparing the analytical mind to the game of chess. Eventually, Poe ties in the occurrences of a bizarre incident with a flashback to 18--. Through analyzing the scene and using clues and witnesses' testimonies, a character of great analytical power solves a murder mystery that no one else can even remotely get a grasp on. The story may sound ordinary at first, but upon the completion of the novel, a doubtful reader can change his mind. Edgar Allan Poe's utilization of different literary and writing techniques and his unique development of the story allow readers to indulge in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".

    Read More

  • The Raven and The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,” (“The Raven” 1). “The Raven” arguably one of the most famous poems by Edgar Allan Poe, is a narrative about a depressed man longing for his lost love. Confronted by a talking raven, the man slowly loses his sanity. “The Haunted Palace” a ballad by Poe is a brilliant and skillfully crafted metaphor that compares a palace to a human skull and mind. A palace of opulence slowly turns into a dilapidated ruin. This deterioration is symbolic of insanity and death. In true Poe style, both “The Raven” and “The Haunted Palace” are of the gothic/dark romanticism genre. These poems highlight sadness, death, and loss. As to be expected, an analysis of the poems reveals differences and parallels. An example of this is Poe’s use of poetic devices within each poem. Although different in structure, setting, and symbolism these two poems show striking similarities in tone and theme.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Murders At The Rue Morgue And The Tell-Tale Heart

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    In both of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings, “The Murders at the Rue Morgue” and “The Tell Tale Heart” as the reader I am able to identify possible roles of crime and comfort in each piece. As we discussed in lecture, crime can be breaking the law, an act against another that is hurtful and against human morals, punishable by law, victimizing and much more. In each reading we find our self deeply immersed in the story this gives me the reader a clearer understanding into each tragedy by having the opportunity to clearly define the role of crime and comfort in each reading.

    Read More

  • The Murders in the Rue Morgue

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Murders in the Rue Morgue begins with “propositions” (Poe 2) to help the reader follow the reading through the use of critical thinking like that of a chess or card player. The chess player must wait and contemplate each move of another player, while the card player is more prone to memory perception. Poe then introduces his acquaintance Dupin and expounds on his abilities. Then “Extraordinary Murders” (5) begins the sequence of the detective like story. The murders were written about in the local paper and giving no clue, leaving the mystery unanswered. The next day many testimonial references were given in the paper and their account of the murders exposed, still without any evidential clues. The evening paper reveal the police have no way of solving the crime, but arrest Le Bon simply because he was the last individual to see the murdered alive. Dupin’s “peculiar analytical ability” (3) begins to kick in and he begins to belittle the ability of the investigators and plans an “examination” (9). After receiving permission, Dupin and Poe (or the narrator as such) went to the Rue Morgue. They carefully scoured the neighborhood and the outdoor area before entering the house and room where the murders took place. Dupin was very intense and refrained from speaking for several hours contemplating on all he had seen. Then Dupin spoke and completely expounded his analysis of the murders, the means of entrance and exit, and the ability that it would take to complete what had been done. When he centered in on the agility, strength, ferocity and lack of motive (14), Dupin revealed the hair he found revealing the intruder and murderer. To draw the orangutan’s owner to him, Dupin posted an announcement in the news paper. ...

    Read More

More about The Murders In The Rue Morgue By Edgar Allan Poe

Open Document