None Provided3 Essay Thesis Example For Students

None Provided3 Essay Thesis Aspects and Analysis of Edgar Allen Poes The Cask of Amontillado and the Black CatWhat makes literary works considered great, and furthermore what makes the greatness of the work withstand the test of time? The answer to both of these questions is the same. Greatness of literary work that withstands the test of time is due to the fact that their meaning is still seen and identified with by people today, and still evokes interest in the reader, even though these works were written decades, sometimes centuries earlier. When works of literature have with stood the test of time, and are still considered great, these works are analyzed as to why they are so. One authors work that has come under much critical analysis to what aspects of his work make them so great is Edgar Allen Poe. Two works in particular that have come under analysis are The Cask of Amontillado, and the Black Cat. Under analysis, it has been determined that there are three aspects of Poes writing that make his stories literary classics. These three aspects of his writing are style, theme and use of irony. What are these three aspects, and how are they used in Poes work?Edgar Allen Poes literary style has been analyzed in many different ways. It is believed that it is the style and the view that the reader is given that make his short stories so compelling. His style is made up of two closely connected parts that influence the structure of his stories greatly. The first part of his style is the perception that Poe gives the reader. The perception that the reader gets can only be achieved by the second part of his style which is the use of the first person narrative that both The Cask of Amontillado, and the The Black Cat posses. These two connected parts, the perception and first person narrative, give the stories a sense of realism. Although by pure critical analysis of the story, a reader may determine that the central characters of the stories The Cask of Amontillado, and The Black Cat are insa ne, not only for there actions, but there thinking as well. As readers, we should not look at Poes stories objectively. There is no possible way to obtain from any of Poes gothic tales an objective viewpoint because every word is relayed to the reader directly though the narrator(Saliba 70).We believe in all the narrative that the central character gives, not only on what he sees and does, but also about what he is thinking. the dramatic action of all the stories is directly created by the narrative voice(Saliba 70).This is precisely Poes intention. As readers, if we believe that the characters are insane, and there perception of the world is clouded, we would not believe that what the characters see and feel is not really happening, then we miss Poes intentions entirely:What is important is that the reader give credence to the idea that the narrator believes in his own perception; that what he perceives is surely more true to him than whatever objective reality the reader might thi nk he sees, or as Poes intended underlying reality of the situation. It is far more important that the reader trust the narrator as far as the narrators perception is concerned than that he skip him mentally to reassure himself of Poes sane artistic control the whole time the reader is pursing the story; otherwise he will be missing the opportunity of enjoying the artistic experience Poe has intentionally provided (Saliba 68)As for the style of the first person narrative, it gives the story a totally different perception and feeling, not found in most short stories.With most short stories, the plot is told from the outside looking in, in the third person form. As readers, besides the occasional description, we never get to really determine the true feeling of the central character. However with Poes first person narrative, as readers look from the inside of the main characters head to the real world as Poes character sees it. The intended function of Poes narrator is to captivate th e readers conscious mind and mesmerize his senses to the extent that he cannot help identifying with the narrator to some degree(Saliba 70).With this style of character portrayal, we as readers know at all times what the central character is thinking and feeling, and how it influences their actions. In order for a reader to fully appreciate Poes art, the reader must willingly fully participate in the story (Saliba 70).Theme is the second part of Edgar Allen Poes writing that makes his stories so intriguing. The theme of all his works has been described has grotesque and arabesque. The grotesque suggests more strongly a yoking of the chaotic, fearful and the comic; the arabesque suggests more strongly a sense of ironic perspectives in the midst of confusion and ominoisness. Both suggest the struggle to understand the incomprehensible, neither term meaning anything absolutely exclusive of the other, both focused on the tension between conscious control and subconscious fear and delusi on(Thompson 109). The types of themes that are present in the The Cask of Amontillado, and The Black Cat, are premature burial, which is only seen in The Cask of Amontillado, although wall in the main characters victims is seen in both stories. The premature burial was brought about as a result of an act of revenge, however the motivation of the main character in The Black Cat is different. He is driven to madness by the cat, which in the end becomes his own downfall, but both characters are seeking to commit the perfect crime. What the narrator describes is what he would call a flawless plot, that is, a plot to commit a crime and get away with it. But it is precisely the plot or the pattern that gives it away(May 78). Theses themes greatly influence the characters involved in the plot as they pertain the story line.The use of premature burial as a way to enact Montresor revenge on Fortunado in The Cask of Amontillado has many uses. The reason that premature burial is so appealing t o Poe is that it embodies the idea of an awareness or a perception of ones lack of control. Such an awareness engenders fear(Saliba 79). The time period in which the The Cask of Amontillado takes place, premature burial was a common way of fulfilling revenge. The reason for this is simple.The idea of premature burial as a means for revenge either by walled in or being buried alive victims still leaves room flaw.This flaw is known and intended by the person acting out the revenge. Divine intervention is the flaw that exists in the almost perfect scheme. This divine intervention comes as an outlet for which the person seeking revenge could escape to. For example, if a person is buried alive or walled in as a result of revenge, then if the revenge were injustice, then God would step in as divined intervention and save the person from death. If the revenge were justified, then the persons death as a result of being buried alive or walled in would only be right, and just. Also the use of premature burial, and or walling in someone, as a use of revenge is near flawless, except for divine intervention. When burying someone alive, or walling someone in, all evidence is concealed, and natural death is the actual cause of death. This method of revenge destroys motive for killing rendering it impossible for a person to be convicted of his or her crimes. Baseball Salaries EssayThe use of irony in The Black Cat, however is not purposefully set up by the main character, but by the pattern of the story. Unlike The Cask of Amontillado, where irony is seen from beginning to end in two forms, there is only one use of irony that exists in The Black Cat. This use of irony is not seen until the very end of the story. The main characters obsession that builds through the story, which brings about the hatred for the black cat that he owns, makes for the irony. In the end as described in the story, he tries killing the cat with an ax, and is stopped by his wife. In is obsessive hatred for the cat, and rage that enthralled him by being almost tripped down the stairs by the cat, and because his wife stopped him from killing the cat, the main character buries the ax in the head of his wife. Here is the first part of the irony that exists. The cat with which he is so obsessed with and hates, has brought him into killing his wife, and because of hi s obsession and hatred for the black cat, the narrator feels no remorse or guilt for his crime. In an attempt to flawlessly hide his crime, he not only wall in his wifes carcass, but also the hated black cat. This is the set up for the second, and most climatic irony of the story. After investigation into the missing wife, authorities search the narrators home, and eventually venture into the basement where both the cat and his wife are walled in. In an attempt to mock the authorities in their fruitless search, the main character knocks on the wall commenting on the well-constructed house. That the cat embodies this very image of paradoxical perverseness is suggested by the narrator describes the sound it makes when he raps on the wall: a howl a wailing shriek, half of horror, half of triumph, such as might have risen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the damnation(3:859)(May 75). The black cat, which he overlooked and buried with his wife, has yet again comeback to haunt him. The black cats cry alerts the police that there is something behind the fake wall, and upon investigation the body of his murdered wife is discovered:In the next, a dozen stout arms were toiling at the wall. It fell bodily. The corpse, already greatly decayed and clotted with gore, stood erect before the eyes of the spectators. Upon its head with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and whose informing voice had consigned me to hangman. I had walled the monster up within the tomb (Poe, Tales of Mystery and Imagination 349)After analyzing the three aspects of Poes writing, style, theme and use of irony, we as readers have a better understanding of not only how to read Poes tales, but also the meaning that goes much deeper then the surface of the story. The unique perception that that Poes gives his stories enables the reader to identify with the main characters thoughts, actions and feeling. Also, the th emes he uses, although at times are grotesque, are original, and entice the reader, showing the darker side of the human soul. Lastly, the use of heavy irony gives Poes stories an unpredictable edge that keeps the reader coming back again and again to read his Gothic tales. These three aspects of Poes ingenious writing make them the literary classics that they are today. Bibliography: Works CitedMay, Charles E. Edgar Allen Poe: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York:Twayne Publishers, 1981. 78-81. Poe, Edgar A. Tales of Edgar Allen Poe. New York: Books of Wonder, 1991. 51-59.Poe, Edgar A. Tales of Mystery and Imagination. New Jersey: Castle BookSales Inc. 339-349. Saliba, David R. A Psychology of Fear: The Nightmare Formula of Edgar Allen Poe. New York: UP of America, 1980. 69,70,79. Thompson, G.R. Poes Fiction: Romantic Irony in Gothic Tales. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1973. 13,14, 99-103, 109,172-174.