Kennedy, Weissberg and University Press article claims that Poe made a façade of racism to make a living during a time prior to the Civil War and during the abolition movement. Southern states wanted to keep slavery to maintain their riches. The audience of publishers were mixed between narrow-minded and closed-minded individuals. Edgar Allen Poe’s works expose his fear of poverty and racist stereotypical nature. “The Complete Tales and Poems of Allen Poe” consist of subtle racist remarks.
Another group of critics were Mastroianni and Studies in American Fiction. They disagree with the previous claim in terms of the meaning behind the racist remarks. They believe the racist remarks represents Poe’s “representations of race and normative antebellum strains of racism, and to debate the extent to which he supported slavery.” Poe was not racist, but he used racism as a tool to engage and point out politics of slavery. He wants to engage the readers to a (point) to make them think about their standpoint on racism.
Unlike Mastroianni, Rudoff and The American Transcendental Quarterly discusses how Poe makes distinctions in the tale, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. He makes comparisons with the use of cultural and worldly experiences to show Poe’s obsession with white and black. The encounter with the captain of the Ariel and whaling ship, Penguin is an example of where Poe tries to justify between the two races. “These two species "assemble," "for some days appear to be