...Edgar Allen Poe’s notorious drug and alcohol abuse combined with his dysfunctional and unsupportive family played a significant role in the development of Poe’s unique writing styles and topics. Edgar Allen Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe was a British actress. His father, David Poe Jr. was an actor from Baltimore. Edgar Allen Poe had two other siblings, a brother named William and a sister named Rosalie. Poe did not have a close relationship with his parents; they were a part of his life for a short amount of time. His father abandoned his wife and children, a few years later Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. (“Edgar Allan Poe.” Poetry Foundation.) She was the first of Poe’s many...
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...torture. The most sadistic and cruel inflictor of pain is often our own mind, and when someone manages to manipulate us on a mental level, we are at our most vulnerable. Edgar Allen Poe was a master at painting vivid storylines of people going insane with the prospect of their own doom. Hollywood has combined classic fear-inducing plots with gruesome special effects to bring that same mentality to audiences. In the short story by Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado”, the main antagonist effortlessly manipulates and traps his victim. In much of the same way, the gory “Saw” franchise focuses on a madman who sees himself as a vigilante and takes justice into his own hands by torturing his victims on both a mental and psychological level. “The Cask of Amontillado” and the “Saw” movies share the combined use of entrapment, manipulation, and psychological and physical infliction of pain while being at polar extremes in the methods used upon their victims. Entrapment plays an important role in both horror sagas. In the story of the Amontillado, Fortunado is taken deep into the vault. As the two walked deeper down, Fortunado was repeatedly asked if he wanted to turn back “We will go back; you will be ill and I cannot be responsible. Besides there is Luchesi” (Poe), but his pride and vanity drove him on farther into the catacombs in search of the Amontillado. Fortunato was led into a niche where instead of the Amontillado stood two iron stalls with a short chain attached. Quickly the links were...
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...Seeing Poe’s Struggle with Alcoholism through his Stories “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” Jen Andalou Edgar Allen Poe’s stories “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are among his most popular. Both of these stories can be read on several different levels causing everyone who reads them to come up with a totally different interpretations, yet none of the interpretations I have read seem satisfying. The two stories at first seem simple enough, with “The Black Cat” reading as a darker version of “The Telltale Heart”, this time with the conscience given a physical form, and “The Cask of Amontillado” as a chilling tale of revenge exacted told as a deathbed confession. Yet these simple interpretations leave too many questions. Many reviewers unfairly single Poe’s works out as coming directly from his subconscious, ignoring not only how carefully Poe chose his words and phrases but also the sources that inspired the stories (E A Poe Society, “Autobiography”). That being said, I think Poe did deliberately use his stories as a kind of self-therapy thus revealing at least a little about himself. A large constant in Poe’s life was his fight with alcohol, which made itself known in his writing in many ways. The main theme of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” centers on the narrators’ attempts to wall off, or suppress, his alcoholism, with the narrator succeeding over alcoholism in “The Cask of Amontillado”...
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...Gothic writing essay In the works The Black Cat, by Edgar Allen Poe, A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, and Prey, by Richard Matheson all exhibits the gothic elements of violence and revenge along with the main charters having psychological issues. A use of violence in the Gothic works The Black Cat, A Rose for Emily, and Prey, help to further establish the charters in the stories and add into the horror that makes them Gothic. An example of this in The Black Cat is when the main charter gets mad at his wife, because she saved the cat from his wrath, but then he “withdrew [his] arm from her grasp and buried the axe into her brain” (Poe 4). In this example of violence form Poe’s story he shows how mental unstable the main charter is and how a simple outreach to save a cat leads to murder helps to fully exemplify the gothic element of violence. Other examples of violence would be in A Rose for Emily when Emily finds out the man she loves is not interested in settling down she took matters into her own hands as the towns people found out upon Emily’s death years later when “the man himself lay in the bed. For a long time while [the community] stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin” (Falkner 1074). Here in this story Emily vengefully and violently took matters into her own hands so her love could stay with her...
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...the mystery and tension of the story, illustrating the importance of the theme: perspective. The same story told from a different perspective can have a completely different interpretation. Throughout the story, there are many clear differences between the narrator and Roderick Usher. These differences range from mental state, to family life, to character traits. It is these traits that shape the character into who the reader sees them as. The reader then sees the story from their perspective. The same story told from a different perspective can have a whole new meaning depending on how different the characters are. In the “Fall of the House of Usher” the two prominent characters are very different. Poe talks about the characters using such detail to allow the readers to...
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...meanings, we know, depend on the key of interpretation.” By Georg Eliot It goes without saying that the more one ponders upon the masterpiece written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the more compelled one finds themselves to, not only reverence what she brought forth, but to also acclaim the diverse interpretations one can come up with of a text written well over a century ago. The story talks about a woman who is diagnosed with "temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency" (Gilman 1) and thus is sentenced by her physician to a rest cure. Following her husband’s and doctor’s orders, her suffering grows worse and worse and signs of depression, anxiety and dissociation manifest, quite the opposite of what was supposed to happen. Having the ability to scare and horrify the reader, this unique story had been considered as a classic in Gothic literature. However, it has recently been perceived as an early indictment of the patriarchal social structure and therefore has become a classic in feminist literature. There are many signs of Gothic elements and feminist ideas presented via symbolism, and one of the most prominent figures presented in the story is the house. In this paper, I will provide an illustration on how the...
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...Unit 2 Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) [pic] The American Romanticism I. What is Romanticism Originated in the second half of the 18th century, romanticism was a key movement in the Counter-Enlightenment, a reaction against the Age of Enlightenment. Romanticism emphasized intuition, imagination, and feeling, to a point that has led to some Romantic thinkers being accused of irrationalism. Romanticism focuses on Nature; a place free from society's judgement and restrictions. Romanticism blossomed after the age of Rationalism, a time that focused on handwork and scientific reasoning. Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper, and those of the late period contain Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe. II.Features of American romanticism Edgar Allen Poe(1809 - 1849) the most controversial and most misunderstood literary figure. a Bohemian（吉普赛人）, depraved（堕落） and demonic（恶魔的）, a villain（恶棍） with no virtue at all. Mark Twain declared his prose to be unreadable. But Eliot proclaimed him a critic of the first rank. He enjoyed respect and welcome greatly in Europe. He is the father of psychoanalytic criticism. In deed, Poe places the subconscious condition of the mind under investigation and probes beneath the surface of normal existence. What interests him most is the deep abyss of the unconsciousand subconscious mental activity of the people, His theories for the short story and poetry are remarkable...
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...From How to Read Literature Like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Notes by Marti Nelson 1. Every Trip is a Quest (except when it’s not): a. A quester b. A place to go c. A stated reason to go there d. Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously...
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...Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily--how calmly I can tell you the whole story. -Edgar Allen Poe; The Tell-Tale Heart An Analysis of Hamlet's Unraveling The madness of Hamlet is prevalent within each page of the beloved play. Stemming from his acute paranoia, distrust of others, and melancholy outlook, there is a great unraveling of his psyche as the play rolls on. He can be observed as a victim of Psychotic Depression with paranoid tendencies. In Hamlet, the key character is characterized by his suicidal tendencies, grandeur delusions, and highly conflicted personality, therefore he can be classified as depressive, paranoid, and psychotic (Zimbargo, et al 580). While Hamlet's initial sadness itself brings little alarm to the audience, his eventual distressed nature becomes an apparent issue: O, that this too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! (1.2.5) Oatley 2 Initializing Hamlet's distressed nature and suicidal thoughts; Hamlet's spoken words brings the audience up to pace with his distress over his mother's marrying of his potentially murderous uncle. With this we pick up a certain instability in Hamlet's mental functioning...
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...Hui-Fen Hsu The Heroic Pattern in Life of Pi 95 The Heroic Pattern in Life of Pi Hui-Fen Hsu Applied English Department National Taichung University of Science and Technology Lecturer Abstract This paper examines the universal structure of a mythological hero’s adventure in Life of Pi. The theory is based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which illustrated and distilled heroic patterns from various cultures. The hero’s journey has three stages: separation, initiation, and return. Answering a call to adventure, the hero departs from his familiar world and ventures into a region of supernatural wonder. Miraculous forces are encountered there and a decisive victory is won. He then returns from this mysterious land, bringing an elixir to bene¿t his fellow men. Through this journey of trials, the hero transforms his former self and achieves spiritual growth. Such heroes range from monster slayers to spiritual leaders such as the Buddha and Christ. Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel about an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck by drifting on a lifeboat with a tiger. His adventure ¿ts Joseph Campbell’s hero archetype. Similar to the mythological hero, Pi departs from his familiar land of India, answering the call for adventure to a new country. Protected by the supernatural powers of Hinduism, Catholicism, and Islam, he penetrates the dangerous and mysterious realm of the Pacific Ocean. After experiencing harsh ordeals, he returns...
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...The Gift of the Magi Themes Love "Gift of the Magi" is the story of a poor, young couple whose love for each other is the most important thing in their lives. Such is their love that they're led to sacrifice their most valuable possessions to find Christmas gifts for each other. The warm home they make together contrasts with the drabness of their poverty and the dreary world outside. Their love seems to know no bounds, though Della (the wife) worries about how her sacrifice will affect her husband because of how it affects her looks. If ever there were a story with the message that all you need to be happy is love, this is it. Sacrifice The two main characters in "Gift of the Magi" are a husband and wife who give up their most precious possessions to be able to afford gifts for each other on Christmas Eve. The story seems to be all about sacrifice. We watch Della go through the process of deciding to make the sacrifice and going through with it, only to discover that her husband has made the same sacrifice. The story's narrator assures us that in their willingness to give up all they have, they have proven themselves the wisest of all gift-givers. It might remain unclear, though, exactly what their sacrifice has accomplished, or how it has affected them. Wealth In many ways, "Gift of the Magi" is a story about what it means for something to be valuable. Does something's value lie in how much money it is worth? Or are other things more valuable than money? The main characters...
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...collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped the planet after the impact. This sediment layer is enriched in the rare metal iridium and other elements that are relatively abundant in a meteorite but very rare in the crust of Earth. Even diluted by the terrestrial material excavated from...
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...collided with Earth. 5 If an impact is large enough, it can disturb the environment of the entire Earth and cause an ecological catastrophe. The best-documented such impact took place 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period of geological history. This break in Earth’s history is marked by a mass extinction, when as many as half the species on the planet became extinct. While there are a dozen or more mass extinctions in the geological record, the Cretaceous mass extinction has always intrigued paleontologists because it marks the end of the age of the dinosaurs. For tens of millions of years, those great creatures had flourished. Then, suddenly, they disappeared. The body that impacted Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period was a meteorite with a mass of more than a trillion tons and a diameter of at least 10 kilometers. Scientists first identified this impact in 1980 from the worldwide layer of sediment deposited from the dust cloud that enveloped the planet after the impact. This sediment layer is enriched in the rare metal iridium and other elements that are relatively abundant in a meteorite but very rare in the crust of Earth. Even diluted by the terrestrial material excavated from...
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...Structuralism - 39 Structuralist chickens and liberal humanist eggs Signs of the fathers - Saussure - 41 Stop and think - 45 The scope of structuralism - 46 What structuralist critics do - 49 Structuralist criticism: examples - 50 Stop and think - 53 Stop and think - 55 39 Stop and think - 57 Selected reading - 60 3 Post-structuralism and deconstruction - 61 Some theoretical differences between structuralism and post-structuralism - 61 Post-structuralism - life on a decentred planet - 65 Stop and think - 68 Structuralism and post-structuralism - some practical differences - 70 What post-structuralist critics do - 73 Deconstruction: an example - 73 Selected reading - 79 4 Postmodernism - 81 What is postmodernism? What was modernism? - 81 'Landmarks' in postmodernism: Habermas, Lyotard and Baudrillard - 85 Stop and think - 90 What postmodernist critics do - 91 Postmodernist criticism: an example - 91 Selected reading - 94 5 Psychoanalytic criticism - 96 Introduction - 96 How Freudian interpretation works - 98 Stop and think - 101 Freud and evidence - 102 What Freudian psychoanalytic critics do - 105 Freudian...
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...LICENCE LANGUES, LITTÉRATURES ET CULTURES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES SPÉCIALITÉ ANGLAIS DESCRIPTIF DES ENSEIGNEMENTS Année universitaire 2014-2015 Page 1 SOMMAIRE L1—PREMIERE ANNÉE SEMESTRE 1 CULTURE DES PAYS ANGLOPHONES 1 E11 AN5 (6 ECTS) LANGUE 1 E12 AN5 (4 ECTS) CIVILISATION 1 E13 AN5 (4 ECTS) VERSION 1 ET LITTÉRATURE AMÉRICAINE 1 E14 AN5 (4 ECTS) PROJET PROFESSIONNEL PERSONNALISÉ (P.P.P.) E1P AN5 (1 ECTS) 5 5 6 8 10 13 SEMESTRE 2 CULTURE DES PAYS ANGLOPHONES 2 E21 AN5 (5 ECTS) LANGUE 2 E22 AN5 (4 ECTS) LITTÉRATURE BRITANNIQUE 2 E 23 AN5 (4 ECTS) CIVILISATION BRITANNIQUE 2 ET TRADUCTION (VERSION) 2 E24 AN5 (5 ECTS) PROJET PROFESSIONNEL PERSONNALISÉ (P.P.P.) E2P AN5 (1 ECTS) 14 15 17 18 20 2 L2—DEUXIEME ANNÉE SEMESTRE 3 LANGUE 3 E31 AN5 (6 ECTS) CIVILISATION AMÉRICAINE 3 E32 AN5 (5 ETCS) LITTÉRATURE BRITANNIQUE 3 E33 AN5 (5 ECTS) TRADUCTION (VERSION) 3 ET PRISE DE PAROLE EN CONTINU 3 E34 AN5 (6 ECTS) PREPROFESSIONNALISATION : MÉTIERS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DES LANGUES VIVANTES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES 3 21 21 23 24 26 29 E3PF12L5 (6 ECTS) SEMESTRE 4 LANGUE 4 E41 AN5 (5 ECTS) CIVILISATION BRITANNIQUE 4 E42 AN5 (6 ECTS) LITTÉRATURE AMÉRICAINE 4 E43 AN5 (5 ECTS) TRADUCTION (VERSION) 4 ET PRISE DE PAROLE EN CONTINU 4 E44 AN5 (6 ECTS) PREPROFESSIONNALISATION : MÉTIERS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT DES LANGUES VIVANTES ÉTRANGÈRES ET RÉGIONALES 4 30 32 34 36 39 E4PF12L5 (6 ECTS) 3 L3—TROISIEME...
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