Critical interpretation of Poe's Short-stories

 

Hello friends,

Every time we talk about literature, undoubtedly we will have some interpretation in our mind. It is true that the term literature has more than  one meaning and we have to be aware of its different definitions. 

The reader who chanced in youth to come upon one of Poe’s finer stories is not likely to have forgotten its impression on his unjaded sense of mystery and beauty. Nor are there many who in mature years, and in this heyday of the short story, first become acquainted with the “Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque,” but must realize the power of their conjuring charm. Taken together they are the fullest exhibit of their author’s genius, if not the highest; and if the highest is to be seen in his poetry, which fairly may be debated, the prose tales with their greater volume and diversity lose nothing in comparison.

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.

- Poe

Poe wrote for magazines which demanded stories that would appeal to a mass audience, so he gave them what they wanted.  Although he suffered bouts of depression after his wife's death, Poe wasn't a terribly morbid or melancholy person.

Why did Poe write such dark stories?

The main characteristic of Poe's short stories is the existence of what is so called a single emotional effect: all incidents in the story, the words and details that create the incident, must point toward this single, effect. Poe is known as the possessor of one most original imagination.

The themes of the short stories are 

(1) madness brings harm, 

(2) drinking too much alcohol cause catastrophic, 

(3) revenge exist even in a close friendship, 

(4) people are helpless when confronted to God's power, 

(5) love gets rid of the memory, 

(6) true friend will always be at our side, 

(7) God shows power through miracle and disaster; and 

(8) mental disorder can be hereditary features.

The Tell-Tale Heart

This is a dramatic  monologue story: throughout the  story, the narrator or the "I" is speaking to someone. He is trying to prove his sanity to his listeners, but he proves his madness instead. 

The following is a part of the opening paragraph of the story:

"True! nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will you say that  I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses--not destroyed--notdulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing a cute. I heard all things in Heaven an din the Earth"

By claiming that he has an extraordinary hearing capability, the "I" proves his madness instead of sanity. So, the subject matter of the-story is madness, because in the whole story wedeal with a madman who tries to prove that he is mentally healthy by telling us a horriblestory about a sadistic murder he has committed. The murder he describes in detail itself can bepossibly done only by a mentally sick person. The victim of the murder is an old man who isrich and, actually, is his own master. His only reason in committing the ghastly murder seemsridiculous. He does not hate his master for he is treated well by the old man. He has no desire for the old man's gold, either.

The problem for the "I" is the old man's eye:

"I think 'it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eye resembled that of a vulture--apale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and soby degrees--very gradually--I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever."

The old man is  suffering from glaucoma,  a dangerous eye disease which can cause total blindness. That is why there is a blue film over his eyeball. But, the"I" can not comprehend this. He thinks that the..

he calls it Evil Eye is the source of his agony and he has to kill the old man and stop the pain forever. After preparing himself for seven nights, he kills the old man cold-bloodedly at the eighth night. Then, he does a macabre thing to the body; an evil deed that can be done only by an ill-mad person. The narrator does not realize that he has done a sin. He, in contrast, is glad that he has vanished the source of his agony. The interesting thing is, he  still has consciousness to hide the body, to conceal his wrong doing. It is ironical also that finally, because of his own madness, he reveals his own secret to the policemen who come to observe the house.

The theme of the story can be stated as follows: 

madness can bring harm or a madman may commit dangerous things to his community.

The Fall of the House of Usher

This is the longest story in the selection which also is the most popular. The subject matter of the story is somewhat touching: friendship. The narrator of the story has to pass a very long way to the House of Usher. The mansion is owned by his intimate friend, RoderickUsher, who is suffering from a mental illness and has privately asked the narrator to come. A letter, however, had lately reached me in a distant part of the country--a letter from him- which, in its wildly importunate nature, had admitted of no other than a personal reply. The MS gave evidence  of nervous agitation. 

The  writer spoke of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, When the narrator first views the decaying mansion, he is convinced that there hangabout  an atmosphere peculiar to the place and is immediate vicinity. This condition of universal decay and imminent collapse are shared between the house  with the "eye-like"windows and its inhabitant, Roderick Usher, whose physical frame and mental control are declining rapidly. The narrator does his best to accompany and encourage Usher in passing his suffering days. Usher's illness is such a bizarre one: He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was alone  endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with terror. Besides his strange illness, he is also enslaved by a constant terror of the future, an apprehension of his own imminent destruction. 

The narrator, as Usher's only friend, tries to comprehend the circumstances and passes his days in the mansion pacifying his friend. The poor nobleman has a  single sister, Lady Madeline, who is also suffering from a lingering disease which drags her to dissolution. She finally dies because of her unhealed malady. Thenarrator helps his friend in entombing the body. After the death of Lady Madeline, RoderickUsher is more melancholy and the narrator is busy in his earnest endeavors to alleviate it. At the same  time, Usher also experiences a change on his disposition. "An observable change came over the features of the mental disorder" of Roderick Usher. His ordinary manner has vanished; his ordinary occupations are neglected.

The narrator has to work harder to watch over his friend who has no one who can take care of his malady. Their friendship is so strong that the narrator does not have the heart to leave his friend alone in such kind of bad condition.Then, the terrible thing occurs. Lady Madeline, who is still alive actually, returns and confronts her brother, toppling upon him and sending them both at last to their deaths, as awhirl wind howls about the phosphorescent walls  of the outer house. 

The House of Ushers crambles and falls into the nearby tarn.After  examining the whole story, the theme we can take from  it can be stated as follows: true friend will always be at our side in good times and also in bad times. 

There is an English saying "A friend in need is a friend indeed" that would clarify our theme.

Can murderers be considered to be either mad or bad?

 

However, the split between faulty individual and faulty society, whilst offering an explanation for some murders, is in general too simplistic. There is a 'reflexive' relationship between social factors and the individual's constitution.

Some people are able to control anger or frustration and channel these feelings to nondestructive outlets. People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters. Most can control their actions to the extent that relatively few of these interactions end in violence.

Click here to view my response submitted to Dr. Jay Maheta's task

Thank you.