The Unity of Effect in “The Man of The Crowd”
While studying the works of Edgar Allan Poe, I was introduced to the “Philosophy of Composition” and the concept of Unity of Effect. I found it intriguing that the author is supposed to know what type of Unity of Effect they will convey before everything else such as the title, characters, place, setting, time, etc. My goal in this essay is to illustrate how Poe used a mysterious and curious tone to achieve Unity of Effect in “The Man of The Crowd.” The opening line in “The Man of The Crowd” grabs our attention by saying, “er lasst sich nicht lesen “– it does not permit itself to be read.” (Poe 229) It goes on to say “There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told.”(229) These first two lines of the short story are shocking plus it leaves the reader wanting to know more. It leaves the reader curious, wanting more information. Poe applies this attention grabbing technique, leaving the reader wanting to know more in some of his other works. Specifically, “The Cask of Amontillado” starts with “The thousand injuries Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (208) The phrase, “I vowed revenge”, forces the reader to move to the next line to see what …show more content…
On page 234 it says, “I caught a glimpse of a dagger and of a diamond.” This is peculiar because it could mean that the old man was once rich but lost it all due to being a criminal or it could mean that he did the crime for money. This is also true in “The Cask of Amontillado” where the narrator says, “The thousand injuries Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed for revenge.”(208) The reader is left wondering what Fortunato could have done to make the narrator, Montresor, want to murder
While studying the works of Edgar Allan Poe, I was introduced to the “Philosophy of Composition” and the concept of Unity of Effect. I found it intriguing that the author is supposed to know what type of Unity of Effect they will convey before everything else such as the title, characters, place, setting, time, etc. My goal in this essay is to illustrate how Poe used a mysterious and curious tone to achieve Unity of Effect in “The Man of The Crowd.” The opening line in “The Man of The Crowd” grabs our attention by saying, “er lasst sich nicht lesen “– it does not permit itself to be read.” (Poe 229) It goes on to say “There are some secrets which do not permit themselves to be told.”(229) These first two lines of the short story are shocking plus it leaves the reader wanting to know more. It leaves the reader curious, wanting more information. Poe applies this attention grabbing technique, leaving the reader wanting to know more in some of his other works. Specifically, “The Cask of Amontillado” starts with “The thousand injuries Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (208) The phrase, “I vowed revenge”, forces the reader to move to the next line to see what …show more content…
On page 234 it says, “I caught a glimpse of a dagger and of a diamond.” This is peculiar because it could mean that the old man was once rich but lost it all due to being a criminal or it could mean that he did the crime for money. This is also true in “The Cask of Amontillado” where the narrator says, “The thousand injuries Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed for revenge.”(208) The reader is left wondering what Fortunato could have done to make the narrator, Montresor, want to murder