Edgar Allan Poe's Impact On America

Edgar Allan Poe’s Impact On America

Edgar Allan Poe once said, “words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality” (Poe). Poe’s words were impressing the minds of society throughout the 1800’s. He was growing up around violent events in his youth, such as the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. He lives through the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, and James K. Polk. Many well-known authors were born during his era. Many classic stories were published during his lifetime as well, thus leading to some possible inspiration for his works. When Poe was nineteen years old, the first U.S. railroad was created. His twenties were when many historical events

The Black Cat is a short story that shares a tale of a man and his cat, Pluto. The man was once kind and loved animals, but due to a large intake of alcohol, he becomes aggressive towards not only his wife, but Pluto as well. The narrator explains his change of heart by saying, “I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife. At length, I even offered her personal violence.” he continues his explanation with “My pets, of course, were made to feel the change in my disposition. I not only neglected, but ill-used them. For Pluto, however, I still retained sufficient regard to restrain me from maltreating him, as I made no scruple of maltreating the rabbits, the monkey, or even the dog, when by accident, or through affection, they came in my way” (Poe, The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, page 532). In the beginning, the narrator maltreats the animals and even his wife, but not Pluto, he has a special connection with Pluto. Poe’s stories often show the narrator going mad and gaining a desire to hurt someone or something. This is why the narrator eventually cracks one day when he returns home quite intoxicated, he says “I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon my hand with his teeth. The fury of a demon instantly

For example, characters in books are named after him, movies are made based on some of his stories, and he is even portrayed as a character in popular television shows. In the A Series of Unfortunate Events series, written by Lemony Snicket, there is a character named Arthur Poe. He has a son named Edgar and a sister named Eleonora, referring to Poe’s short story, Eleonora. Also, a movie directed by Brad Anderson which was released in 2014 called Stoneheart Asylum, is based on Poe’s short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. One who has read the story, can watch the movie and find many parallels between the story and certain scenes. Lastly, in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch titled “The Phantom Menace”, a character is named Edgar Allan Poe IV. He claims to be Edgar Allan Poe’s great-great-great-grandnephew. Poe can be found in many aspects of American culture