Finding Identity In Poe's 'Strawberry Spring'

One of the most influential authors of all time, Edgar Allan Poe, uses dark imagery and complex syntax to make his short stories and poems dark and mysterious. Poe’s dark, tragic backstory contributes to his dark writing style. His father left him when he was young, and his mother died when he was only three. He then went on writing poems, and after he finished his school, he found his fiance cheating on him, so he moved to Boston to get away from everything he knew. He then married his cousin when she was only 13, but she died 11 years after. Annabel Lee was likely based off of his wife's death, having wrote it shortly after her death. Overall, Poe used his dark imagery and complex syntax to write his gothic short stories and poems such as Annabel Lee and Fall of the House of Usher.

When the fog rolls in, death illuminates the air. Unbenounced to Springheel Jack, he unknowingly kills when the fogs arrives. His acts of killing are unknown which is something to fear in life. Being unsure of what you did the night before is a scary experience. In “Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King this happens to the narrator who’s character is deluded. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman imagination gets the best of the narrator. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, the old man with the vulture eye is evil and drives the narrator insane. The three characters are all looking at life through a different scope. In “Strawberry Spring”, the narrator’s characteristics are forgetful, uncontrollable and he commits the worst crimes but justifies his actions to reader by claiming he does not remember. He is by far, the most unreliable narrator because he does not know he is committing murder by being forgetful and by his uncontrollable actions.

Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are now. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (O’brien 36). Life within itself is a story, a story ever present and ever changing, defining the person one becomes to be. Stories are etched into the minds every individual person, the good and the bad. This novel is a cluster of short stories experienced by the protagonist and his fellow companions.

These short stories are meant to represent how the author perceived reality at the time. It is set as real life is set, in a realm of disjointed events, that make sense overall, but for an outsider looking in, they are confusing and disconnected.

Explore the methods by which writers develop the theme of identity in the light of this statement.

Many authors often use symbolism to express a deeper meaning. They use the symbols to connect an unrelated thought or feeling into their literary work they are writing. Edgar Allan Poe frequently uses this literary device in his works. Symbols are many times seen in his poems and in his short stories. Many symbols are evident in Poe’s works “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Black Cat.” Because Poe’s works are typically dark, his use of symbols is in a dark way. Although there are many types of symbols manifested in these stories, Poe’s works generally include a symbol that eludes death or the end of something and many include references of sight and vision.

For example in The Noble Experiment it shows the genre of Autobiography. One of the main reasons why it’s an Autobiography is because of how the story addresses Jackie Robinson. According to the text it states “I sat and watched him, not knowing what to until he began tearing at one hand and with the other - just as if he were scratching his skin off his hand with his fingernails. I was alarmed. I asked him what he was trying to do to himself.” Throughout the text it has key words that signify the P.O.V of the text is first person this manifests that this is an Autobiography because in Autobiographies is shows the inner feelings of the subject and it uses first person words to really materialize that. A second example in the story is how the

Throughout life, there are those who struggle to find out who they are and their path for life. However, this same struggle can be seen in a lot of literature. For example, two selections where this internal struggle can be seen is the short story "Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?" and the poem "White Lies".

As an author establishes the characters he simultaneously attempts to develop the theme of the story. An author uses various elements such as point of view, the setting, and symbols to work toward the expression of one central idea. In looking at "A Rose for Emily." a short story by William Faulkner, it is evident that Faulkner successfully carries one main idea throughout the piece, the idea of being isolated from society.

Short stories have fully developed themes but appear significantly shorter and less elaborate than novels. A similar theme found in short stories “Winter Dreams” written by Scott F. Fitzgerald and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner included the social and environmental influences that encouraged and controlled the character’s life and decisions. In “Winter Dreams”, the main protagonist-- Dexter-- fell into a fixation over a young, whimsical blueblood, Judy Jones. His obsession led him to believe that Judy Jones reciprocated his feelings for her, leaving him bare and mortal-- despite prior beliefs. Following her father’s death, Miss Emily fell into a dark obscurity due to the pressure and compulsion of having to carry on the honorable family name. While using a unique point of view (first person peripheral), “A Rose for Emily” followed a mysterious and desirable woman named Miss Emily as her hometown tried to understand her peculiar ways and began to find her disgraceful. By comparing and contrasting these two literary pieces, a similar organization-- including the writers’ purpose and themes-- should become clear. By using literary devices-- such as point of view, dramatic irony, detail, and figurative language-- Scott F. Fitzgerald and William Faulkner conducted two short stories similar in aim and reasoning, probable for contrasting and comparing elements within the parallel writings.

Edgar Allen Poe is known for the various literary devices he uses in his works. One of the most famous devices he uses is symbolism. In many of his stories, including “The Masque of the Red Death,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses symbolism to further develop each story by the messages he writes between the lines. Symbolism is an important aspect of Poe’s many works, seeing as how it allows the readers to make connections within the stories. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe represents symbolism through the title of the short story, the outfit Fortunato wears, and the Montresor family motto and coat of arms.

Short stories often have various underlying themes and meanings to them and can often be compared to other stories to find those same meanings. Occasionally, you need to dig deeper to find these hidden meanings. The three short stories, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield, and Everyday Use by Alice Walker all share some similar themes and ideas that require some digging to uncover and bring to the surface.

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 budding rose above the rose full blown," writes William Henry Wordsworth, elevating the process of emerging, changing and evolving over those already developed, established and matured. While Wordsworth’s remark regards a rose, the statement also accurately describes Katherine Mansfield’s protagonist in The Garden Party. The narrative focuses on a wealthy family from New Zealand, jaded by elite lifestyle and prominent social standing. The youngest daughter, Laura, "the budding rose" of the story, seeks to break the constraints of upper class society, causing her to be both more mature and compassionate than other members of her well to do family.

There is a difference between loving someone and being in love. Loving your family or loving a friend is an example of one type of love. It is a type of love when you care about the person a lot and have an emotional attachment. Loving your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend are examples of being in love. This type of love is stronger because you have a passionate desire for the person and or deeper affection for them. To either love someone or be in love the emotion is powerful and can make a person feel and do many wild things. In the poem “Annabel Lee” written by Edgar Allen Poe explains his love for his dead wife, Annabel Lee. Edgar Allen Poe uses symbolism, repetition, and fairytale like words in his poem to convey those