Bleakness In Edgar Allen Poe's The Cage

Humans have a tendency to shy away from their sufferings. People are known to reach for stimulants in desperation, overriding the prudence of good judgment. Resorting to alcohol, Edgar Allan Poe himself escaped from painful recollections of his loved ones. “It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.” This quotation written by Edgar Allen Poe, explains the very heart of human behaviour. Humans are notorious for their ability to focus on the negative aspects of life and those who do not acknowledge the bleakness of the world are often caught in the trap of distracting themselves from the agony that surrounds them. The hopelessness within

Poe’s words goes to the very core of the literary works of Shepherd. Megan Shepherd uses her novel The Cage, to illustrate that in a captive environment, the necessity to escape the failings of humankind intensifies, overpowering the rationality of human intelligence.

She begins to illuminate the effects of this environment through the characters inclination to isolate themselves. As the hope of escape begins to dwindle, so does the ability to make wise decisions. Shepherd then moves onto the characters weakness of trusting one another. This shows how a bleak environment leads to numerous arguments which ultimately determine the fate of the characters. As a final point, Shepherd solidifies that humans living in captivity can lose their sanity, leading them to act animalistic. These characters each uniquely demonstrate the loss of humanity and how they are forever jaded by this world. The Cage, written by Megan Shepherd demonstrates that humans will succumb to their weaknesses over their better judgement when held

captive.
As the characters fall deeper into a state of utter desperation, a sense of hopelessness overwhelms them.

This leads them to isolate themselves from what is left of civilization. The characters thoughtless actions begin as Cora flees from Lucky in complete devastation. After Lucky reveals his true identity, “[Cora] plunged into the shadows of the forest…Running, running, running. She felt like [a] rat. Running endlessly, going nowhere (Shepherd 194-195). The desperation Cora feels to escape the truth dominates her sensibility as a human. Her impulsive actions put her in a grave situation with the possibility of facing incurring danger in a dark forest. The intensity of the situation affects her rational behaviour leading her to act on instinct. Cora acts immaturely as she runs away from her problems. The fact that she compares herself to a rat shows how utterly lost and confused she feels as she runs, trying to escape the horrors of this seemingly perfect world. This provokes her inability to think in a sensible manner resulting in her reckless decision to isolate herself. These actions reflect upon Cora’s hopelessness to remain sane as her once known world crumbles around her. Building on this idea, as Cora encounters Leon in the forest, his deranged behaviour arouses when he is reminded of his sister. Seeing Cora right afore, Leon mistakes her for his sister. In his lost mind, fantasy becomes reality, confirming his bizarre thoughts. As Cora approaches Leon, “He cocked his

head, taking a step towards her. You grew your hair out. Mom always wanted you to have long hair” (Shepherd 259). Leon’s voice holds a sense of recognition and comfort. This reflects upon his identity from a hurtful bully to one who expresses his feelings in a caring manner. The reader can see how humans lose themselves through isolation and captivity. The narrator shows Leon’s multiple painting of humans’ eyes. This is an indication of pure loneliness and torture, the sign that he has reached the point of complete insanity. The image of Leon’s struggle to distinguish the realities of life is a true representation of a human in desolation. As a final point, when Lucky tries to kill Leon he realizes the irrationality of his thoughtless behaviour. When Cora leaves Lucky, his state of insanity starts to emerge as he thinks Leon was the cause of her immediate departure. The overwhelming idea of murder appeals to his distressed mind. As Lucky rushes out of Leon’s hut, “He’d felt such hatred in his veins, such certainty that Leon had been the one to twist Cora, but the truth was, all of them were twisted…He would isolate himself, for his own safety (Shepherd 326). At this point, Lucky’s character can be deemed as selfish as he only thinks about how he can better his chances of keeping a sane mind if he lives in isolation. The hatred he feels is an expression of his embarrassment because Lucky knows that his intentions to kill Leon were misguided. The venom in his voice shows the anguish he experiences as he drifts further away from human rationality. Through the use of the characters’ isolation, the reader can see how a bleak environment slowly consumes and destroys the individuals.
Furthering the idea that humans submit to hopelessness within their surrounding environment, the inability to trust one another leads the characters to numerous complications. This pushes them to act uncivilized as they let insensible behaviour cloud their true judgment. The senseless arguments that are created by one’s stubbornness is a true example of foolishness. When Rolf enters the diner he immediately storms out in fury yelling, “You! [He] jabbed a finger at Cora. What, breakfast and lunch wasn’t enough? You had to steal dinner too? I didn’t steal anything! Cora yelled” (Shepherd 175). The level of anger Rolf’s voice upholds, gives the idea that he is losing his sensibility as a human. His aggressive and accusing tone clearly shows that he no longer trusts Cora and is willingly to fight against her. The fact that Cora denies his accusation does not change his opinion and one may see how the intensity of the situation leads the characters to fall into a deeper pit of hysteria. This conflict only furthers the breakup between the characters’ relationships as they lose trust within one another. In addition, as Lucky reveals his secret, Cora becomes enraged with the fact that he did not trust her enough to tell her the truth in the first place. As Lucky reveals his true identity, “[Cora] doubled over, struggling to breathe. Your mother? My dad killed your mom? You said she died when you were a little boy! I…lied. I [did not] want you to know” (Shepherd 184). Cora’s despair is accented through her lingering questions as she struggles to understand Lucky. Her ragged breathing symbolizes the betrayal and pain she feels as the truth about her past is brought to light. The guilt Lucky’s voice holds implies the feeling one may experience when they hurt someone they deeply care about. His betrayal unleashes the raw emotion within Cora, which provokes the uncivil state of her mind in desolation. This shows how the trust that built up between them is instantly shattered. Thus, clarifying the thoughtlessness one may possess under the conditions of harsh existence. In addition, as Mali admits the true fate of Earth, Cora reacts irrationally. She refuses to believe that Earth has been destroyed and retaliates by trying to convince the others that Mali is lying. As Cora dawns on the idea of Earth being annihilated, “Her eyes [fall] upon Mali, standing cryptically silent…How do we know you aren’t lying? If you were working with the Kindred, this would be the perfect thing to say to make us give up hope” (Shepherd 245). Cora lacks trust in Mali and, as a result, has doubts when she is forced to believe her. At this point, the others are against Cora and favour Mali’s theory. Cora is convincing herself that Mali should not be trusted and forces herself to be in opposition to Mali’s statement. Cora’s hope for a better world is slowly fading leaving her to act irrationally. As the characters begin to argue against Cora she starts to lose her voice of reason. This concludes the extensive arguments the characters endure as a result of their inability to trust each other.