The document discusses the narrators in Edgar Allan Poe's works, emphasizing their common anonymity and psychological depth. It highlights how these unnamed narrators often reflect Poe's own troubled mental state and the themes of madness, crime, and morality present in his stories. The analysis suggests that the use of first-person narration creates a sense of credibility and intimacy, despite the potential unreliability of the narrators.

1. Ajit A. Kaliya
M.A. Sem 3
Roll No. 1
Enrollment No. 2069108420170013
Batch 2016-18
Department of English, MKBU
Paper 10: American Literature
Subject: Analysis of Edger Allan Poe’s narrators

2.  1809 – 1849
 an American writer, editor, and literary critic.
 Best known for his mystery and horror
stories.
 One of the earliest short story writer.
 Considered the inventor of detective fiction
genre.
 Best known works are: The black cat, The
cask of Amontillado, The fall of the house
of Usher, Ligeia, The murders in the Rue
morgue, The tale tell heart.

3.  The first thing which is easily noticeable is that almost all the stories have
unnamed narrator.
 Horror and mystery is important than character’s identity.
 Unnamed story teller itself creates mystery. It rises questions like who is
he? From where is he telling story?
 Stories which have unnamed narrator are:
Ms. found in a bottle
Ligeia
William Wilson
The pit and the pendulum
The black cat
The tell tale heart
The fall of the house of Usher
The purloined letter
The murders in the rue morgue
The Goldbug

4.  These unnamed narrators tell stories using ‘I’
 Either about own experience (The tale tell heart, The black cat, The cask of
Amontillado, Ligeia) or what they have seen. (Fall of the house of Usher, The
purloined letter, The murders in the rue morgue)
 Confession of crime.
 But why so many “I”?
the use of first-person narrations in his texts allow some to consider
his stories and poems as a mirror for his own life. Poe’s stories, filled with murder
and the macabre, seem to shed light on the person that Poe really was. It seems that
stories such as his could only be written by a man so incapacitated by his unhealthy
mental state. The reason why the first-person narration provides creditability to his
tales could be because readers are struck by Poe's own weirdness. Therefore, the
narration helps to make the story creditable given many readers could probably see
Poe as writing them either as awaking from a dream or as a stretching of his true
realities in life. (enotes)

5.  We cannot trust Poe’s narrators.
 Does the incidents really happened or not?
 Possibilities of that the things has never happened.
 Reasons: madness, mental dieses, alcohol, opium addict

6.  Most of the stories are told by narrators about their past experience.
 Stories begin with present, introducing the narrator.
 The incident is already happened and it is all over. Then narrator tells the
story of how that happened.
 Examples:
 The narrator of 'The black cat' is currently in jail. That time he tells his story
of why is he in jail.
 The narrator of 'The tell tale heart' also talks about how did he kill an old
man and how did he get arrested.
 In 'The cask of Amontillado', narrator talks about fifty years old incident.

7.  The narrators of 'The tell tale heart' and 'The cask of Amontillado' are
examples of id, ego and superego.
 The tell tale heart’s narrator’s superego prevented him to behave cruel
during the day.
 he wanted to see first old man's eye and then wanted to kill him. It was his
ego.
 same way narrator of ‘The cask of Ammontillado hides his intention in
proper way.

8.  Many of Edgar Allan Poe's narrators suffer from mental illness and also
from body disease.
 in beginning they claim that they are not mad, but their detailed description
of their crime prove that they are mentally ill.
 The narrator of the cask of the Amontillado killed his friend just because his
friend insulted him.
 Narrator of black cat confesses how alcohol made him evil.
 The narrator of The tell tale heart kills the old man only because he did not
like his eye. His over acuteness of senses also is a proof of mental disease.

9.  Different from horror stories.
 Not mad, criminal or psycho
 Narrator is loyal friend of C. Augustine Dupin.
 Tells stories about how Dupin solve cases

10.  Though there are many stories there are similarities in them. Most of the
narrators resemble same characteristics. It is possible to have reflection of
Poe’s own life in his stories, his habits, his mental state and his inner
desires.

11.  Works Cited
 enotes. 2017. 26 October 2017 <https://www.enotes.com/homework-
help/poes-use-first-person-narration-provides-402008>.
 sparknotes. Poe's short stories key acts. 25 October 2017. 26 October 2017
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/facts.html>.
 wikipedia. Edgar Allan Poe. 31 October 2017. 5 November 2017
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe>.