Narrating the Undercurrents of American Culture Edgar Allen Poe Narrating the Undercurrents of American Culture

On the Edge Through flashback, Poe’s narrator reveals the incidents which bring him to the point of facing his own death on the very next day. We learn of the narrator’s personality, which is monstrously altered apparently by an addiction to alcohol.

Clues Remember that Gothic Literature employs the literary device of the grotesque. “Grotesque”, an adjective, derives from the Italian, meaning “grotto” or “cave”. The “cave” used in the gothic sense is the mind, the inner world. Gothic writers explore the inner world of the main character.

Pursuing the Clues Look for words in the story that refer to the mental state of the character. Look for conflicts that result from a character’s lack of self-control. Look for names or places that suggest darkness or what is hidden. Look for actions that defy rational explanation.

(“I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife.”) Notice as well that Poe provides us few concrete details. His language is often spare and suggestive. (“I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife.”) We must enter into our own imaginations to develop the context of the setting, the action, and the physical appearance of the characters.

What Is Really Going On? Remember, we are expected to enter into the character’s mind, and by so doing, enter into our own as well. What motivated the character to act as he did? By extension, what motivates us to act as we sometimes do? Poe believed that our irrational actions (pleasant one moment, crabby and irascible the next) result from our “perverse” nature.

Our Dual Nature Look for characters who exhibit separate personalities. Look for situations that involve two separate states of being. Look for unexplainable events. Look for characters in torment—usually a consequence of guilt.