English Literature

While numerous authors have attempted to stir the minds and rouse the hearts of many, no one has came closer as to awakening the spiritual and psychological aspects of ones life as Edgar Allan Poe.
A poet, critic, short story writer and book author in the mid-1800s, Edgar Allan Poe pioneered a genre which is later to be loved by many readers  (The Literature Network). A prince of macabre stories, Poe now obtained the title father of the modern detective story.

Being an orphan at young age, Edgar Allan Poe experienced the oppressive pains of broken family and death of loved ones. While attempting to rise from the tough situation, with the help of a foster family, he continuously encountered the whip of frustrations both in his career and personal life. While already engrossed in writing poems and short stories, Poe had to face the death of his wife after around 12 years of marriage, which some believed to have caused much of his alcoholism.

Poe was interested in exploring the darker recesses of the mind  the part of the consciousness that is often hidden from our view and that we are only partially or momentarily aware of. In leading the reader deep into the intricacies of the mind, Poe instills a sense of humanness, reminding us that we all have the potential for good or bad, greatness or destruction  the ability to overcome our mental tendencies or to succumb to them, and warning us of the risk of breaking away from reason, which leads many of his characters to gradually decay into madness. He leaves us better acquainted with the part of our minds more often rejected or ignored, and as a result  acutely alert and deeply humbled.
Many of his stories focus on self-destructive tendencies  and to a certain degree, theorize that we all have these propensities within us. Poe was also a master strategist. His meticulous preparation of stylistic effects shows that Poe was interested in controlling and carefully shaping the readers experience while reading his stories. Perhaps he had a slight sadistic streak but more likely, Poe was interested in imparting knowledge to his reader. One of the ways in which Poe produces his intended effects of his stories is through the use of first person confessional narrative.

At this point, we take a particular look at his short stories and then later examine the effects that he intentionally achieved through the use of the first person confessional narrative.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story of an unnamed narrator who has murdered an old man for no obvious reason except that the old mans pale blue eyes has earned his ire and madness  (Book Rags). The kept identity of the narrator is an effective way of conveying that the same character can be any person. The narrator argued that he is not insane through a logical defense of his actions, but his very act gives way to his true mental state. The narrator would peep into the old mans house for seven nights, without the latters knowledge as the murderer acted normal towards the old man during the day  (SparkNotes LLC). On the eight day, the narrator killed the old man. He was prompted to do so by the fear that the sound of the old mans heartbeat awakens the neighborhood. The story was told using the first person point of view, through a monologue  (Answers Corporation). The use of this point of view has effectively heightened the tension and fear felt by the narrator revealed by his language  (Answers Corporation). This emotional waves has been perceived clearly by the readers through the use of the first person point of view. Particularly, the fluctuating emotions of calmness and logical statements versus impulsive and nonsensical outbursts  gives window to the readers on the real psychological and mental state of the narrator.

In the Imp of the Perverse, the same murderous tendency of man for unjustified reason was highlighted. Beginning with an essay instead of a work of fiction, the literary work attempted to provide an explanation and perhaps justification of the succeeding acts of the main character. The essay can be seen as a support to the story. Using the first person point of view, the narrator related how he as a self-confessed victim of the imp of the perverse planned and did the murder of a wealthy state owner. He did this by replacing the mans candle by one that emits poisonous vapor. The man was slowly killed by suffocation in his poorly-ventilated room. Having inherited the estate of the murdered man, the narrator enjoyed the pleasures brought by the wealth while reminding himself that he is safe as even the investigators concluded that the death was death by visitation of God. The first person confessional narrative gave us a vivid view of the emotional, spiritual, mental as well as physical tortures brought by guilt, so that the man was forced to confess his crime without any outside pressure to do so. This inner conflict was clearly conveyed to the readers through the use of the first person point of view.

Lastly, we had the story of the man of the crowd which incidentally focused not on the man of the crown but on the narrator who sought to investigate about the life of the man through following him relentlessly. The walk was like a journey to the characters of the man himself more than a look at the places. The author again used the first person confessional narrative to complete the story. The readers therefore had a closer look on the one who was following rather than the old ghastly man that he followed. The narrator suspected that the man committed the gravest of crimes without necessarily identifying it. It was the dagger under the mans cloak that made the narrator thought so. The narrator was previously sitting in a coffee shop in London, content with looking at the different groups of people passing by. But it was only this old traveler, who made the man rise from the needed rest of recuperation to follow him. The use of the first person narrative was used to describe how the peep into the mans life through following him has created different stories and thoughts in the narrators mind. Again, the narrator was unnamed, which may be interpreted as anyone. Indeed, anyone can create a variety of thoughts on other people depending on what he sees on others. The story ended with the narrator feeling exhausted to follow, thus returning to his home.

The person point of view is popularly known as the one that uses the I viewpoint  (Britton). This point of view is said to be effective in a thriller as is can provide the utmost empathy with the character, thus enhancing suspense  (Britton). This is the most obvious success of Poes use of the first person point of view.

The first person point of view is powerful in letting the reader be immersed in the story. When one is emotionally and mentally immersed into something, he can easily be persuaded and controlled. This is the same effect that Edgar Allan Poe achieved in the use of the first person point of view in the Tell-Tale Heart and the Imp of the Perverse. Although it is obvious that the characters are not in their proper state of mind, the narrators were able to solicit the understanding of the readers. This may be because the readers can somehow relate to how the narrators mind run.  

Deeper than empathizing with the characters, Poe was also able to uncover the hidden darkness inside of our minds, which is then translated to a better knowledge of ones self. In short, readers gain greater perception with the use of the first person point of view. The narrator somewhat attracts the readers to his own perceptions though they may have different objective point of view. What is important is that the reader give credence to the idea that the narrator believes in his own perception that what he perceives is surely more true to him than whatever objective reality the reader might think he sees, or as Poes intended underlying reality of the situation  (TermPapers-TermPapers.com). The use of the first person narrative allows the readers to look inside the main character so as to captivate the readers conscious mind and mesmerize his senses to the extent that he cannot help identifying with the narrator to some degree  (TermPapers-TermPapers.com). Most importantly, the first person point of view allows the readers to personally participate in the story  (TermPapers-TermPapers.com).

The first person point of view highlights the irony that can be achieved in the story. This is very interesting in suspense and thriller stories as the man battles against himself rather than an outside force. In the stories of the Imp of the Perverse and the Tell-Tale Heart, the narrators have not shows remorse and have never regretted their deeds, but their fear of discovery has driven them to confess. The irony is on the deed of the same things that they are afraid of. This is ironic but the readers can relate to this type of thinking. Why the narrators were able to do the exact opposite of what they wanted to happen is clear to the readers mind. This is the effect that Edgar Allan Poe tried to create in his stories  to let the readers understand the motivations of the character so that they will understand their actions. This is a unique characteristic of a first person point of view, which Edgar Allan Poe has successfully used to create a significance in the genre that he was in.  

The unreliability of the first-person narrator, detailing a seemingly motive-less murder allows the reader to gain insight into the psyche or real dilemma of the character  (CBS Interactive Inc). There are two simultaneous perspectives seen in the stories the narrative and the authorial. In the Tell-Tale Heart, the author tried to convince the reader that he was not insane. So Poe allows the narrator to serve as rhetorician, but Poe also allows him to fall short so that the readers would be able to detect the discrepancy. It is an very exciting twist and style that makes Poe brilliant  (CBS Interactive Inc).
Lastly, Poe has been successful using the first person point of view in creating a process of identificationassociation and then separationdisassociation between the reader and the narrator. At one time he attracts the readers into the inner self of the narrator, wherein the former relates to the thoughts and feelings of the latter. This is the achievement of the identificationassociation. One the other end, through Poes own crafting of the narrative, the reader is disassociated with the narrator so where the former discovers the flaws of the latter. This is again successfully achieved with the use of the first person confessional narrative.

To what extent is Poe infusing part of himself into his main characters Some scholars suggest that Poe was afflicted with the imp of the perverse. From everything Ive read of and about Poe, I would even go so far as to speculate that he had severe OCD. Perhaps Poe wrote his stories to explorejustify his own actions of self-torment and self-destruction. In this way, perhaps Poes acute awareness in his highly strategized first person confessional narratives served an even more profound effect to achieve an understanding of his own mind and possibly even a sense of forgiveness or exoneration towards his own tendencies.