Edgar Allan Poe's Life And Legacy

The life of Edgar Allan Poe was nothing short of a series of unfortunate events. He was a gifted man who got dealt a bad hand by fate. Though most of his work found success after his death, the very few literary works that did get recognition did not bring him the success he so rightfully deserved in his lifetime. With over 100 stories, poems and short stories published under his belt Poe became a major influence to many literary styles and authors. He is said to be the creator of the genre of detective-fiction and with his amazing works he truly is still one of the greatest authors this world has come across. With all the hardship Poe had endured during his short life reading his stories gives us an inside look to the tormented soul he truly …show more content…
The Allan’s were a couple that were well off and didn’t comprehend the struggles that surrounded Poe’s life for those two previous years. John Allan was a successful tobacco merchant who created quite a forlorn name for himself, [Edgar Allan Poe: His life and Legacy, pg. 9 “impulsive and quick-tempered… rather rough and uncultured in mind and manner.”] Though he seemed to have the perfect life he was an alcoholic and a physical and emotional abuser to Poe. The struggle of having to live through that abuse fuelled Poe’s writing, his writing was very dark and depressing usually showcasing his inner turmoil. Allan didn’t give Poe a break, they were always getting into fights because Allan found Poe to be ungrateful. Once Poe was old enough he removed himself from Allan’s oppressing thumb and ventured into the world. What Poe didn’t realize was that the world was an even cruller place than he imagined. He wasn’t able to get his work published because no one seemed to understand him, he couldn’t hold down a job because he was constantly fighting his inner demons he was truly alone in the world because both of his “mothers” died and his only living relative shunned him. These trails significantly impacted Poe’s life and turned him into the dark and daunting author we all know and …show more content…
As a result of all the tragedies he went through he turned to something that would numb the pain. Because of his drinking problem he had difficulty keeping a steady job and he was creating a bad name for himself. He was slowly establishing a gap between himself and his community by getting drunk and making a fool of himself. There are two stories that legitimately bring to light the influence alcohol had on his writing and his life. The Cask of Amontillado is a story of a man carrying out his own revenge on a drunkard. And the other story is “The Black Cat” which talks about a man who gets extremely drunk and ends up torturing his own cat. What I find interesting about both stories is that they pair the alcohol with violence, The Cask of Amontillado Montresor gets Fortunado drunk so he can kill him and the main character in The Black Cat gets drunk and ends up torturing his own cat both stories use alcohol as a sort of wall to hide behind to express their inmost desires and make their volatile acts “okay”. Both stories were written closely too his death which has proved to be the time where he was starting to lose his mind which is why they are extremely violent and dark. A quote that I find truthfully expresses Edgar Allan Poe’s deterioration from a brilliant man to a bitter, lonely drunk is [The Black Cat “My original soul seemed. At one, to take its flight from my body; and a more than