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READINGS
GREENHAVEN PRESS
AMERICAN LITERATURE
ON
THE SHORT
F
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Hayley Mitchell Haugen, Book Editor
Bonnie Szumski, Series Editor
Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego, CA
Chapter 2: Revenge, Murder, and Madness
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction: Peering into the Darkness:
Psychological Reality in Poe
Edgar Allan Poe: A Biography
Characters and Plot
10
12
14
30
Chapter 1: The Detective Stories
1. Auguste Dupin: Poe's Burgeoning Professional
by William Crisman
Poe's ingenious sleuth Auguste Dupin, of the serial mysteries "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of
Marie Roget," and "The Purloined Letter," grows into his
role of professional detective. His mysterious nature and
impressive showmanship add to his aura of professionalism, which helps earn him large sums of money for his
services.
2. Dupin Is a New Mythological Figure
by Lothar Cerny
Like many heroes in ancient myths, Auguste Dupin fulfills
almost superhuman tasks in his pursuit for justice. Without any special physical prowess, he solves the riddles of
the crimes he is faced with, bringing truth to light where
others have searched for it in vain.
3. Poe's Detective Tales Employ Both Critical
Reasoning and Intuition by JanWhitt
Poe's detective fiction exemplifies his belief that art must
appeal to both reason and emotion. Detective Dupin lives
by this same belief, solving his famous cases with a detached analysis of scientific data and an understanding of
the human heart.
4. Narrator, Detective, Murderer: The Three Faces
of Dupin by George Grella
Dupin demonstrates the triumph of intellect over chaos
and reflects the rational potential within Poe's own frequently irrational and disordered psyche, which presents
itself in other stories.
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52
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67
1. Madness and Drama in "The Cask of Amontillado"
by Kate Stewart
80
Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" is a quintessential
revenge-tragedy hero. A master of dramatic technique, Poe
symbolizes Montresor's descent into insanity with the
sound of bells ringing throughout the story.
2. In Defense of Montresor by Patrick White
87
Although many readers read of Montresor's act of revenge
with a sense of revulsion, Montresor is neither demented
nor evil. In fact, he has reasons for the violence he commits.
3. The Supernatural and Psychological in "The
Black Cat" by Fred Madden
94
In writing "The Black Cat," Poe intended his readers to
explore both the supernatural and psychological levels of
the tale.
4. Comic Design in "The Black Cat"
by John Harmon McElroy
101
"The Black Cat" should be read as a hoax on readers who
too readily sympathize with and pity criminals who proclaim their innocence.
5. Evil Eye: A Motive for Murder in "The Tell-Tale
Heart" byB.D. Tucker
114
In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the narrator commits a seemingly
motiveless murder, for the old man has done him no
wrong and the narrator does not desire his victim's material goods. A motive, however, is present as the narrator
explains, "I think it was his eye!"
6. "The Tell-Tale Heart" Is a Nightmare About Death
by John W. Canario
118
"The Tell-Tale Heart" can best be understood when the
narrator of the tale is recognized as the victim of a bizarre,
hallucinatory nightmare.
\
7. A Link to Macbeth in "The Tell-Tale Heart"
by Robert Mcllvaine
121
There are numerous allusions in "The Tell-Tale Heart"
that suggest that Shakespeare's play Macbeth was on Poe's
mind when he wrote the story.
Chapter 5: Journeys into Terror
Echoes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in "MS.
Found in a Bottle" by Don G. Smith
An examination of common elements in Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein and Poe's story "MS. Found in a Bottle" suggests
that Shelley's novel^served-as-an-inspiration for the story.
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125
2. "A Descent into the Maelstrom" Can Be Read as
a Tall Tale by Fred Madden
128
In light of Poe's penchant for hoaxes, parodies, and burlesques, it is not difficult to read "A Descent into the Maelstrom" as a tall tale.
3. "A Descent into the Maelstrom" and the Quest for
Ideal Beauty by Frederick S. Frank
"A Descent into the Maelstrom" is a kind of anti-Gothic
story in which Poe transforms the Gothic journey from
dark and forbidden places into a quest for ideal beauty.
138
4. The Mathematician in "The Pit and the Pendulum"
by Rochie Lawes
147
In "The Pit and the Pendulum," Poe's narrator is clearly a
mathematician who makes use of his knowledge of math
to escape the terror he faces.
5. Suffering and Self-Knowledge: The Path to
Redemption in "The Pit and the Pendulum"
by Jeanne M. Malloy
153
Apocalyptic images and the theme of transcendence in
"The Pit and the Pendulum" are best understood not as
precursors to the literature of the absurd but as reminiscent of the literary tradition of English Romanticism.
Chapter 4: An Atmosphere of Death: "The
Masque of the Red Death" and "The Fall of
the House of Usher"
1. Allegorical Meaning in "The Masque of the Red
Death" by H.H. Bell Jr.
164
In "The Masque of the Red Death," the seven rooms Prince
Prospero takes refuge in are allegorical representations of
his own life span. Ironically, he chases through these
rooms in pursuit of the thing he fears most: the victory of
death over all.
2. "The Masque of the Red Death" Is a Fable of
Nature and Art by Kermit Vanderbilt
Prince Prospero is an exact portrait of Poe's image of the
artist-hero, and "The Masque of the Red Death" is, in this
light, a fable about nature and art.
3. In "The Masque of the Red Death" Life Itself
Is Death by Joseph Patrick Roppolo
The Red Death in Poe's story is not a pestilence in the
usual sense of the word. Rather, it is life itself, the one affliction shared by all humankind.
170
177
4. The Enclosure Motif in "The Fall of the House of
Usher" by Leonard W. Engel
182
Poe employs images of enclosure, a common motif in his
work, in "The Fall of the House of Usher" to create setting,
influence mood, and intensify the mystery of the work.
5. "The Fall of the House of Usher": A Rational
Interpretation of Terror by I.M. Walker
191
Poe's purpose in writing "The Fall of the House of Usher"
was to explore the process of mental derangement. There
are plenty of elements in the tale capable of causing terror
and such descent into madness.
6. Vampirism in "The Fall of the House of Usher"
by Lyle H. Kendall Jr.
201
References to Madeline in "The Fall of the House of Usher"
are filled with a dark significance: She is a vampire.
Chronology
For Further Research
Index
207
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