Compare And Contrast Edmund And Poe

In Avi’s novel, The Man Who Was Poe, he writes about two characters named Edmund and Edgar Allan Poe. At first, the two seem to have similar backgrounds and Poe begins to see himself through Edmund, but as the novel progresses their similarities fade and their physical and mental differences begin to appear. In the beginning, Poe and Edmund discover they have a similar family background, but as the story progresses Edmund’s mother, Sis, and mental stability begin to contradict Poe’s story. Throughout this, they develop an inverse relationship. As Poe gradually becomes insane, Edmund is able to take charge and develop confidence, this is only where their differences begin.
When Edmund and Poe first meet, they soon discover they have very …show more content…
During the latter part of the book, some obvious differences are realized, and one of these is when Edmund finds his mother, in the church, “‘Mother…?’ he began” the continues, “‘It’s me...Edmund’” (Avi 164). Now Poe and Edmund are different since Poe is without a mother and Edmund is no longer. In addition another contrast is that Edmund’s Sis is alive, whereas Poe’s wife, Sis, is not. He finds this out when he is with Poe and Throck chasing down Peterson and Ratchet and sees Sis on board the Sunrise, “‘He’s got Sis’ he screamed” (Avi 194). Third of all, although it is not as obvious, Poe and Edmund’s stories eventually have endings that dramatically contrast, making Poe's story no longer the story of Edgar but the story of Edmund. This is most clearly seen at the very end of the book when Poe hand Edmund a piece of paper that had been edited, “The name Edgar was crossed out. In its place a new name had been inked in: Edmund.” (Avi 198) Additionally, this can also be seen during the chase when Poe says that Sis is dead, but refuses to believe Poe and instead replies by saying, “‘That’s your story,’ Edmund cried. ‘This is real!’” (Avi 189). Clearly, Poe and Edmund can no longer be viewed as the same person because they no longer share the same story, but rather each has their …show more content…
Throughout the story the sane Dupin slowly evolves into his true personality of Poe. At first, he is the one making discoveries and finding clues, but then slowly starts to fade from the case, leading Edmund to take charge. Once Dupin’s personality begins to wash away Edmund quickly realizes he may have to be strong and do some solving on his own. His first big discovery is when he finds his mother in the church and is no longer being assisted by Poe who is no longer worried about their fate, “Poe shook his head as he opened his notebook. ‘As far as I’m concerned they’re all dead.’” (Avi 161). This is also seen when Edmund takes a leap of courage and goes alone to meet Peterson at the docks, and is even brave enough to face Peterson, along with preparing to even use a gun if it is needed. Finally, their final mental difference goes along with other mental differences, but, more specifically, is the inverse relationship that Poe and Edmund have developed. Throughout the latter half of the novel Poe and Edmund both become more concerned with their own stories. Poe wants Sis and mother to be dead while Edmund holds out hope that they are alive and as Edmund develops a sense of reasoning, Poe is growing more insane. These two directly challenge each other at the climax of the novel, “As Edmund watched, breathless, Peterson drew close enough to