The Insane Mind of Edgar Allan Poe Probes Essay example -- American Li

The Insane Mind of Edgar Allan Poe ProbesAs a short-story writer, Poe was a fascinating man of imagination. In theme, Poe places the human mind under investigation and probes insanity beneath the surface of normal existence. He was the first author in American literature to define the neurotic, the heroic figure, the protagonist, in his stories. Poes most enduring tales are those of horror, the horror coming, from the working of an irrational or evil mind, driven to evil or insanity by a perverse irrational force which, to Poe, is an elementary impulse in man. Typically, The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat, and The Tell Tale Heart are three criminal stories of this kind. In these tales, Poe takes readers in the murky territories of the strange world of insanity. And now, lets see what the features and familiarities of these half-mad, evil, and dark criminal minds. To start with, like many Poes stories, the main characters in these three stories are all driven by their emotions, and mostly, hatred against their antagonists. For example, in The Cask of Amontillado...