The writings by Edgar Alan Poe are for the most part sad, dark, dreary, and mysterious, they are just like how his life was. After the age of two Poe never had real parents only people who looked after him after his parents died. He didn't know if his home was only temporary or if it was for good, for all he knew the people he was living with could kick him out of their house and stop supporting him. He lived his life day by day not knowing what the next day would bring or if he would have a house to live in the next day. His future was never certain, he didn't have anything in life to look forward to, and he didn't know where his life was leading him. Just like in his book "The Cask Of Amontillado" where Montressor leads Fortunato down a dark set of circling stairs, and Fortunato doesn't know that Montressor is leading him to his future which is his death. That is like Poe's life because Poe doesn't know where his live is heading just like Fortunato doesn't know where he is going walking those dark stairs. Everything in Poe's future is dark and dreary, not clear as to what is going to be next for him.
When Poe was younger he went to the English and Classical School which the sons of upper class families attended. Since Poe came from a relatively poor family, he didn't feel like he fit in very well. He felt like an outcast, even though he was most likely smarter than most of the other kids he wasn't brought up the same way. That is the same theme as in another book he wrote called "Great Expectations", where the main character, Pip, goes through the same problems that Poe did. Pip's parents died when he was