In Poe’s short story “William Wilson,” the literary use of juxtaposition sharpens the protagonist’s characterization in comparison to his alter ego. The narrator-protagonist, who chose to refer to himself as William Wilson, is depicted in the beginning of the story as partaking in a feeling of superiority among all of his other classmates with the exception of one. This classmate is also called William Wilson and ultimately is meant to represent the dark side of the narrator. Initially, the narrator can’t help but feel adoration but as the story continues he starts violently despising this other William, or in other words, his evil self. The narrator is portrayed as the good guy solely because the other William is represented as evil.
