Preview

How Is Edgar Allan Poe Insane

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1994 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Is Edgar Allan Poe Insane
Edgar Allan Poe Paper
Edgar Allan Poe had a life full of devastation and misery. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was two. He was then adopted by John Allen, who had an enormous amount of money. Although, when Poe went to college, John Allan only gave him a third of what he needed. He had to quit school in less than a year; he had no money, no job skills, and no one who loved him. He decided to join the army, but did not stay long because John Allan refused to send him funding. He lived with his aunt and cousin Virginia, whom he later married. He published many short stories, but they did not sell well; he could barely make a living for his family. Virginia and Poe were happily married for eleven years. Despite their happiness, she died
…show more content…
For example, in the story "The Masque of the Red Death", the main character, Prince Prospero, was insane. He thought that he could outrun his death by creating an ‘unbreakable' fortress. It says in the story, "It was toward the close of the fifth of sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence." In another short story "The Fall of the House of Usher", the narrator, Roderick, and Madeline were all insane to different degrees. It says in the story, "I was obliged to resolve all into the mere inexplicable vagaries of madness, for I beheld him gazing upon my vacancy for long hours, in an attitude of the profoundest attention as if listening to some imaginary sound. It was no wonder that this condition terrified- that it infected me. I felt creeping upon me, by slow yet certain degrees, the wild influences of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions." Also, Poe's story "The Cask of Amontillado" had a psychotic protagonist, Montresor. He thought that because Fortunato ‘insulted’ him, that he should deserve to die. It says in the story, "It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation." …show more content…
In the story “The Masque of the Red Death”, everyone perishes at the end of the story from tuberculosis. It says in the story, “He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revelers in blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. In his story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Roderick and Madeline, the insane twins, die as the house crumbles. It says in the story, “There was blood upon her white robes, and the evidence of some bitter struggle upon every portion of her emaciated frame. For a moment she remained trembling and reeling to and fro upon the threshold, then, with a low moaning cry, fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.” In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor killed Fortunato. It says in the story, “No answer still, I thrust a torch though the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. I hastened to make and end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones.” Finally, in his story “The Black Cat”, the narrator hung his cat and killed his wife with an axe to the head. It says in the story, “I aimed the blow at the animal which, of course would have

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allen Poe was born in “Boston, MA on Jan 19 1809”(Edgar Allan Poe). “Edgar Allan Poe’s dad left him and his mom”(Edgar Allen Poe). “When he was only three his mom died of tuberculosis”(Edgar Allen Poe). “Edgar Allen Poe was separated from his brother and sister and was forced to move to John and Frances Allen’s house, John and Frances were his uncle and aunt”.(Edgar Allen Poe). This is more than likely what motivated Edgar Allen Poe to become a writer. Even though Poe became a world famous poet he unfortunately died poor and miserable. “His death was a mysterious one, no one really knows what happened on October 7, 1849, in Baltimore, MD”(Edgar Allen Poe).…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ Insanity means madness; mental illness (Intermediate Dictionary, pg. 451)”. According to recent insanity plea statistics, there has been a significant increase in insanity defense cases across country. In Edgar Allan Poe’s Short story, “ The Tell Tale Heart “, the narrator is insane because he kills the old man , he gets annoyed by his own heart beat , and he was paranoid.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poe’s early life was difficult, his father left shortly after he was born, and his mother died when he was just three1. Being so young without parents, Edgar Poe was adopted by the Allan family, taking their last name as his middle name. As Poe grew up he bonded with Mrs. Allan but never agreed with Mr. John Allan1. This perpetual disagreement led to money troubles for Poe when he wanted to go to college, John Allen would not lend him enough money to complete his studies at the University of Virginia.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the short story, “Masque of the Red Death”, Edgar Allen Poe uses characterization to illustrate the psychological destruction of the Prince. Throughout the story, Prince Prospero struggles with his anticipation of death, and therefore uses his mind to create different physical illusions of safety. Through Prospero’s spawning of ideas to hide from reality in his castle, Poe explains “The Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hail and lighthearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys.” (420) Besides creating the idea of physical protection, Prince Prospero further creates mental illusions of safety. As the night goes on, the predetermination of death slowly begins to approach Prospero, despite his earlier attempts to create a physical safety net. Prospero invents intangible reasons to divorce himself from death. However, when the Red Death appears, Prince Prospero’s mind crumbles under the weight of his fear and so begins his psychological suicide. Poe’s description of the prince’s hallucinations proves that the refusal to face reality leads to psychological destruction.…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From this point on, Poe became an editor, and his dream of owning his own journal is born. He then moved to New York, after marrying Virginia Clemm, and forming his own family of Edgar, Virginia, and Aunt Maria. After briefly living his dream of owning his own journal, Poe's life took a dramatic turn, when Virginia succumbs to the vicious effects of tuberculosis.…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allen Poe lived a turbulent life. Orphaned before the age of 3 he was raised in foster care in Richmond Virginia. He later was forced to drop out of West Point due to gambling debt. Later, after finding work as a magazine editor, he worked to publish most of his work in order to support his 13 year old wife (and cousin), who had tuberculosis. Two years after her passing he died at the age of forty.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Ray Bradbury once said, "Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." In his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey depicts this arbitrary line between sane and insane. By elucidating the oppressive role of the mental institution and portraying its patients as more eccentric than insane, Kesey sparks a re-evaluation of what it means to be insane. Throughout the novel, the reader is made to question society's definition and the responsibility of the institution for the mental state of its occupants.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since such tragic things happened to him when he was younger that might have been the reason he wrote such horrifying things. After Poe lost both of his parents he went to live with John Allan (Lemco). John didn’t actually adopt Poe he just took care of him and was his legal guardian. John gave Poe a really good education include five years in England and he sent Poe to College (Lemco).…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe was one of America’s most celebrated poet and story teller. His life started early with misfortune. Both of his parents were already dead, when Edgar was 3 years old. His father died of tuberculosis and his mother died of tuberculosis and pneumonia. He was adopted and attended school until he was 17 years old. He started the abuse of alcohol with 17 and he started gambling. As his adopting father figured out, he stopped all financial supports of his adopted son. Edgar had to leave the University and he enlisted in the U.S. military, and later obtained a military school. Edgar Allan Poe was expelled from the military school after one year attending. During…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe Isolation

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809-October 7, 1849), lived to be 40 years old. During his 40 years of living he had to go through many deaths of his loved ones. In addition, being abandoned by his father and foster father. Poe lost his mother, wife, and foster mother all to tuberculosis. He was devastated, lost and didn’t know what to do. Leading him to attempting suicide after his wife died. Instead of killing himself, he took his agony out in his writings. Edgar Allan Poe wrote approximately sixty-nine stories and poems. It has been seen that Mr. Poe has made a collection of similarities in his stories connecting to what he has gone through in life. As some of his most famous stories “Annabel Lee”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “The…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allen Poe was a foster child, his mom died in 1811 when he was not yet three. Poe’s dad had left the family. Edgar Poe married his cousin Virginia. Poe lost most of his loved ones to Tuberculosis. He was renowned with the community when he swam against the current for miles. Poe died unexpectedly at the young age of forty. Some believe that he died of Alcoholism, others believe it was rabies. I believe Edgar died of alcoholism because Poe had drunk all throughout his age and alcohol will wear down your body. Poe’s cat had shown no signs of rabies and he was close to it.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe Insanity

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Inspiring the famous novels and movies we know today, the Gothic first occurred during the Romantic Period in the early eighteenth century. Before making its appearance in literature, the style was shown through different English architectures, by the work of visionaries such as Horace Walpole. After purchasing Strawberry Hill in 1740, Walpole began remodeling the estate into what he described as “Gothick” manner. Adding towers, battlements, arched doors and windows, the mansion quickly became influential as people came from all over the country to visit and get inspiration on gothicizing their own homes.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe Dbq

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Poe’s Mom died of Tuberculosis when he was 3 years old. His foster mom also died of Tuberculosis. When Poe was 27 years old, he married Virginia, who later died of Tuberculosis (Doc. A & B). In Annabel Lee, the narrator’s wife died of a disease, just like Virginia (Doc E). In The Raven, the narrator’s wife also died. This evidence supports that Poe took his life experiences of death and loss and put them into his…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages

    American Romanticism brought a new era to America and American literature. Within literature of the Romanticism era came the development of the gothic novel. Edger Allen Poe is one of the well-known gothic authors which arose from this era. Throughout Poe’s career he wrote many short stories following one theory which he created - that every aspect of a short story should lead to one single effect. For Poe many of his stories have the single effect of terror. In Poe’s story “The Fall of the House of Usher” he creates the single effect of terror through his description of the house, the entombment of Madeline, and Madeline’s appearance at the end of the story.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edgar Allan Poe's Alone

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page

    One of Edgar Allan’s poems was ‘Alone’. Poe expresses his loneliness since his childhood in this poem, after his father had abandoned him, his mother’s death and the separation between him and his siblings. This is indicated by his first sentence “from childhood’s hour”. He even loses his parents who adopted him. His new mother who treated him well and whom he grew fond of, died of tuberculosis when he was a bit older. However, his relationship with his father was not strong and grew weaker as Poe became older. Both his mother’s died through an illness, and both his father’s deceived their wives. Later on, he realizes that everyone who he adores is taken away from him. This is why I can tell that Poe describes his own life and experiences in…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays

Related Topics