Blog Overview

For our blog we decided to use blogger because we found this theme that was quite fitting to the writings of Poe. The theme is of an older looking, possibly abandoned house. There are old pictures hanging from the wall and the walls themselves portray cracks and possibly water damage to the foundation. It looks like this house has been built a long time ago and that nobody really takes care of it which is why it kind of makes you think it could be abandoned. The way this house looks reminds us of “The Fall of the House of Usher” story just because of how the house is described in the story and the way the house is seen in the theme somewhat look similar. The theme we chose also just so happens to be a somewhat darker themed photo which contributes to the themes of the stories.  We decided to place the photos before the written pieces just so it gives the viewer a visual image as soon as you look at the post and by looking at the image you can see what story is about to be talked about. We tried to pick darker looking photos to contribute to the theme of suspense. We made sure the quotes were bolded so you can clearly distinguish the quote from our written explanation. Over all we feel like this blog theme could not have worked out more perfectly for what we were trying to portray. 

A Gloomy Scene

“I looked upon the scene before me- upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain-upon the black walls-upon the vacant eye-like windows-upon a few rank sedges-and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees-with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after dream of the reveller upon opium” –The Fall of the House of Usher

            In the story “The Fall of the House of Usher” this quote to me stands out the most. With this quote it creates your atmosphere of the gloomy house and how the scene is expressed in the story. With the vacant windows, decayed trees and the weather surrounding the house, this establishes your setting and mood as to where the story is taken place and how it’s creating your suspense of what will happen next. Poe uses this descriptive language to get his point across and to establish the scene of the story.

The Catacombs

“We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs”-The Cask of Amontillado

            

              Establishing the atmosphere sets the mood and setting at which this quote states to be at within the story. In the story “The Cask of Amontillado” this quote gives you the understanding of where it’s going and how it will soon come to an end. The piled bones and mold within the catacombs creates a visual image as to where the where the narrator of the story is going with his revenge on his friend Fortunato. As they’re in the catacombs, Fortunato begins to cough as the mold in the catacomb is increasing and he’s becoming worse but the narrator’s plan seems to be working as he plans to kill him. Poe’s language all throughout the story is very advanced which always creates the imagery as to where the characters are. Overall the story was well written.

Amontillado

 “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat.”-The Cask of Amontillado

           The narrator’s character is revealed very early on in this story, right within this quote to be exact. The way Poe phrases this statement gives us in tell to assume he is holding a grudge against a man named Fortunato.  This narrator is very clever and knows just how to lead Fortunato to where he wants him to be. The quote reveals to us just how tricky our narrator really is. He can also be considered an unreliable narrator due to the fact that he is explaining how he wants revenge on Fortunato but when he meets with Fortunato he is very caring and concerned for his health. He ends up getting Fortunato drunk to lure him further into the catacombs where he finalizes his plan. The way Poe portrays our narrator in the story, though unreliable, was very well written because it shows his cunning skill and his ability to manipulate his foes. 

Narrator Untold

“My tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of my compassions. I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these I spent most of my time, and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them” –The Black Cat

 In Edgar Poe’s stories he expresses many literary terms defining what each story will come about. In my opinion, this quote is the main setting of the story “The Black Cat.” An unreliable narrator is someone who can’t be trusted either from ignorance or telling lies. The narrator seems to have a great nature towards his many pet’s and his wife including his black cat Pluto. The narrator is suspected as an unreliable narrator due to his displays of questionable sanity.  In this event of the story, the narrator makes an unexpected twist reading more into this story as in the beginning he indicates his love for his animals but all in all at end of the story he is claimed a murder. 

Driven Mad

“My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame. I took from my waistcoat-pocket a penknife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.” – The Black Cat

In my opinion, I believe this is one of the most important quotes from “The Black Cat”. Regardless of how unrefined and somewhat vulgar this statement is, it really gives you an insight to the narrator’s mind. This side of the narrator proves unexpected due to how much he claims to adore animals previous to this event. However as the narrator believes this cat is haunting him he begins to go mad and attempt to end the life of the thing that he claimed was the cause of his actions.  This quote reveals the fragile state the narrator’s mind is in and thus being the reason why we understand why he later in the story murders his wife. Although a cat is very much unlikely to drive a person mad it leads us to believe that there was something going on with the man before the cat arrived. Truly, a normal human, would not perform such actions just due to the presence of an animal.