The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, And The Masque Of The Red Death
Born in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe's work was a product of mysterious life. Poe used many literary techniques along with influence from his experiences to pioneer the horror and mystery genres to create chilling tones. In the short stories “The Black Cat”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Cask of Amontillado”, and “the Masque of the Red Death”, Poe uses often demented characters, rich symbolism, as well as unique perspectives to convey themes from his own life and build his stories effects. Poe's use of characterization in the stories ‘The Black Cat”, “the Tell-Tail Heart”, and “The Cask of Amontillado”, allow Poe to demonstrate the madness that his characters typically go through. For example in “the Tell-Tale Heart” on page one Poe writes, “True!--
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In the stories “The Black Cat”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “The Cask of Amontillado”, all written in first person, the reader is able to get inside the narrator's head and see the world through their eyes to understand the justifications behind their actions. For example on page one of “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe's use of Point of View reveals Montresor's wrath in the quote “The thousand injuries of Fortunato, I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. It is also through point of view, that Poe is able to relay the character declination of “The Black Cat”s narrator, which can be seen in the quote “hung it because I knew that in doing so I was committing a sin a - a deadly sin” (poe 2). Conversely, in “The Mask of the Red Death” written in third person, Poe adds distance between the reader and the story to create an enigmatic effect. By using third person Poe sets the reader up in a withdrawn position, as more of a spectator than in his other stories, making the theme more of a universal truth than a personal one. This contrast can be seen in between the quotes “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all”(Masque 4) versus “I grew day by day , more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others”(Black 1). Altogether, Poe is able to place the reader in
In the stories “The Black Cat”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “The Cask of Amontillado”, all written in first person, the reader is able to get inside the narrator's head and see the world through their eyes to understand the justifications behind their actions. For example on page one of “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe's use of Point of View reveals Montresor's wrath in the quote “The thousand injuries of Fortunato, I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. It is also through point of view, that Poe is able to relay the character declination of “The Black Cat”s narrator, which can be seen in the quote “hung it because I knew that in doing so I was committing a sin a - a deadly sin” (poe 2). Conversely, in “The Mask of the Red Death” written in third person, Poe adds distance between the reader and the story to create an enigmatic effect. By using third person Poe sets the reader up in a withdrawn position, as more of a spectator than in his other stories, making the theme more of a universal truth than a personal one. This contrast can be seen in between the quotes “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all”(Masque 4) versus “I grew day by day , more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others”(Black 1). Altogether, Poe is able to place the reader in