Comparing The Book And The 1932 Film ' Murders

The 19th century American poet, Edgar Allan Poe, had been plagued by grief from an early age. He was an amazing poet and author who just happened to have a darker story. Many who have studied this prestigious man feel that his works, though magnificent, were extremely dark. Some believe it was nothing more then a fancy for him to spin such gruesome tales. Others feel his work was manipulated by the misfortune of his past. These people have actually found evidence that agrees with this statement. The works of Edgar Allan Poe were inspired by the history and life style of the author. The evidence is evident, when people look back and examine the author, his life, and his writings closely.

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841 is considered to be the first true detective story ever written, and the influence for works such as Sherlock Holmes. The narrator and his friend C. Auguste Dupin, after finding out about an intriguing murder, find themselves trying to free an innocent man and find the real beast behind the murders in the rue morgue. Through Poe’s use of symbolism and vivid imagery, the theme of the story is revealed as the struggle between the analytical, emotional, and imaginative. The Murders in the Rue Morgue presents a recurring theme of the battle between the analytical, emotional, and imaginative. In the beginning of the story, Poe describes a chess battle in great detail,

1. He is not a reliable narrator because he is insane. Though he repeatedly states that he is sane, the reader suspects otherwise from his bizarre reasoning, behavior, and speech. ‘‘True—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?'' The reader realizes through Poe’s description of the narrator’s extreme nervousness that the protagonist has in fact descended into madness, as anxiety is a common symptom of insanity. He apparently suffers from some form of paranoia. Besides, the narrator claims that he loves the old man and has no motive for the murder other than his growing dislike of a cloudy film over one of the old man’s eyes. His madness becomes

As Edgar’s Time at The Literary Messenger came to a close, Poe began to publishing more works like Tales of the Grotesque Arabesque and then would continue to work in the presidential election (Padgett 57,63). Edgar would soon become “Struck by illness” (Tilton 58); this illness was caused simply by Poe’s over use of alcohol. Edgar Allen Poe would soon being a new job at Graham’s Magazine (Tilton 60). Throughout Poe’s time at Graham’s Magazine he spent time with the most influential writers and publishers of his life, Clinton Bradshaw and Howard Pinckney (Tilton 60). With such amazing inspiration Poe’s audience would respond more to what he was publishing. With the publication of “The Murders in Rue Morgue,” the first modern detective story, Poe would create a new level of fame for himself (Tilton 61). The year 1841 would be the one of the last periods of time when Poe is truly happy.

The dark and eerie tone of the murder story and its unusual setting contribute to the story’s theme of defense of one’s honor and avenging wrongdoing. The haughtiness and conceited attitudes of the two men create an extension of this theme in which Poe wants to show how far some men will go when they receive a blow to the ego. The story’s setting in the

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, a crucial statement is declared about how he views the inner workings of men, as well as how men interact with women in society. The narrative is based around the horrific murder of two defenseless women, which seems to have been committed by a mystery “beast”. Poe demonstrates the primitive violent forces that exist within people, particularly men, which have the ability to escape in shocking ways, often against a woman. Poe uses violence as a negative, inhumane act, in order to reinforce the innate brutal impulses that are just under the surface of all male beings.

Edgar Allan Poe is the most morbid of all American authors. Poe made his impact in Gothic fiction, especially for the tales of the macabre of which he is so renowned for. “How can so strange & so fine a genius & so sad a life, be exprest [sic] & comprest in on line — would it not be best to say of Poe in a reverential spirit simply Requiescat in Pace [?]” — (Alfred Lord Tennyson’s reply to the Poe Memorial committee, February 18, 1876). Poe’s own life story sheds light on the darkness of his writings.

Many people enjoy the detective and crime shows, but what they may not realize is that Edgar Allan Poe was the one to pioneer this genre. For the short stories, poems, and a few books he wrote, Edgar Allan Poe is a recognized American writer. He lived in the era of westward expansion, slavery laws beginning to become an issue, and most influential to Poe, Tuberculosis(TB) was a major issue. There was not yet a cure for people with TB, in fact, there wouldn’t be a known cure for another 100 years after his life. He lost many people during his life; his father left before Poe was 3 years old, his mother died from TB when Poe was three. He moved into a foster home, but stories tell that his foster father did not like him so he struggled to find the support he needed both as a child and as a broke college student. Although many myths state that Poe was a drunkard and incapable of love, he was married. His outsiderness in his foster home likely influenced his writing, as well as his irregularity and uniqueness, and his horrid memories of how TB had taken some of his closes family. Poe’s unique literary techniques enhance his macabre writing style.

This essay will discuss the themes in Poe’s writing that mirror his personal life and, in addition, the fear and supernatural motivators for his characters. First, I will discuss Poe’s background and explore how he became best known as a poet for his tales of mystery and macabre.

Although now seen as the father of the modern horror story, Edgar Allan Poe was previously viewed as a drunken failure. Within Poe’s writings much of his own life riddled with guilt, anxiety, alcohol, depression and death shines through resulting in works that appear unrelated yet once dissected prove similar. This is true for Poe’s works “The Raven” and “The Black Cat”. Poe’s examples of gothic fiction share the use of the color black and a rapid digression of the narrator 's sanity while seemingly unveiling Poe’s internal pain. Despite these similarities, Poe’s works also differ immensely. “The Black Cat” focuses around death while “The Raven” is fixed around discovering the reasoning for a bird 's arrival. Moreover, gothic themes seen within “The Raven” do not necessarily remain constant when compared to “The Black Cat”.

Picture this. The father of modern crime and detective stories, known as Edgar Allan Poe, is sitting down about to write a beautiful piece of writing and BAM! He whisks away into a story of love, death, and just plain out horror; either characters are losing someone near and dear to their hearts or they are plotting to kill. Edgar Allan Poe, at a very young age, lost both of his parents, and later on in life, lost his wife to tuberculosis, so in one way or another, these stories reflect off of his personal experiences. A major theme in Poe’s writings is death. The theme of death is seen throughout the works of Annabel Lee, the Cask of Amontillado, the Raven, and the Black Cat.

As a master of short stories of horror, Edgar Allan Poe is knowledgeable, learned and imaginative. He could skillfully manipulate the words in his literary works to create everything people can think of. The masterful use of the symbols, objects intensify the readers’ nerve as the typical elements of horror in Poe’s short stories, and therefore it is also a feature which makes Poe 's stories different from other writers.

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is told in the first person point of view,

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

In many of his stories, it seemed as though Poe craved to see the pain of sorrow in others. The unstable mind motivates the body to act out in such a violent manner in order to satisfy its desires. In “The Cask of Amontillado” the protagonist, Montressor, “[hearkens] in vain for a reply” of agony from his enemy. Poe wanted to hear the suffering of his adversaries; he needed to hear them feel the pain he felt. His desire to force this punishment onto others, questions his sanity and reason. Frances Winwar, Author of the The Haunted Place, suggests that the discovery of a female body found on the Hudson “roused the sleuth Edgar Allan Poe in his alter ego.” (Winwar 226). The darkness that Poe encountered and experienced was the reason he developed the insane characters in his stories.