Selected Short story of Edgar Allen  Poe

Edgar Allen Poe is very famous for his short story. He is American writer also known as poet and critic. His stories are mysterious, detective and horror story. He also deals with human psychology and criminal mind of humans. In his story we found reflection of his fragmented childhood.

1)The Fall of House of Usher 

In this story he talks about fall of house of Usher family. It is kind of gothic fiction. Description of gloomy atmosphere of night, the characterization is also gives hint about the story. The story begins with the entry of unnamed narrator arriving at the house of Usher, for repairing the crack in the middle of house. The character of Roderick Usher also looks like ghost and nobody knows about illness of his sister. We must doubt that she is ghost? She is alive or not. She also have ghostly look. We found that the house is far from city and near to forest. Latter on we come to know that the house is looks like graveyard. All family member of Usher are buried under this house after their death. The structure of house is look like pyramid. The only two member of family are alive, brother and sister. Sister is mentally ill and attacks to kill anybody also attack on unknown narrator and his wife. At the end of the story we found that how the end or fall of the house of Usher as well as the fall of family happened. House translates in grave of entire family. At last two member of family also buried in house. No body of the family is left.

2)The Tall Tale Heart

The unknown narrator lives with an old man. The young man murdered the old man because of old man’s eyes are vultures or ghostly looking. Young man hat only the eye of old man, the reason behind killing old man is his eye. The murder was planned.  Every morning young man visit Old’s room and ask him good morning and sleep well. One day he kills old man and buried his piece of body under the floor. When the investigation of murder happened, by some police man first he denied. But then he fell or herd the heart bits of old man. His guilt consciousness forces him to listen heart beats of old man. Then he conveys that he kill old man and buried him under the floor. This story shows the criminal mind of young man and his guilt consciousness. The narrator of the story is looking innocent but through his mind he was criminal. May be he also want to take revenge to killing old man, because he is like servant of the house?
  

3)The Cask of Amontillado

In this story we have two characters Montresor and Fortunato. Both are good friends. Here the narrator of the story Montrasor tells the story of taking revenge and killing his friend. Fortunate in drunken state went with Montresor. They both went underground in the catacombs. In the way Montrsor offers more drink to Fortunato. Both rich one dark place, in drunken state he can’t understand what happened with him. At that time Montresor chained him to the wall. Then build wall and leave him alone. When Fortunato opens his eyes he was alone and chained with wall. We found that there are so many skulls are lying there. In the last few sentences, we found Montresor reveals that he has never been caught and Fortunato’s body still hangs from its chain where he left him so many years before. It is kind of revenge story and shows criminality or cruelty of Monteresor.

4)The Purloined Letter

This story is kind of detective story. Ere unnamed narrator, he got chance to work with detective Augustus Dupin and the perfect police man known as G. They are tried to solve one mysterious case. Many people try to find out the letter but nobody can find out it. Dupin tries to innovative idea, method to find out the letter. He thinks from the mind of thief, he thinks that if I am thief where I put letter? He thinks from the mind or perspective of thief not the mind of police. Then he started playing one game. It shows psychology and philosophy of human mind especially detective.

5)The Gold Bug

This is a story of strange man. Who become crazy after being bitten by a bug. He thinks that the bug made from the pure gold. And he asks his friend that this bug lead us to golden treasure. After long struggle they found treasure, which was buried by the ‘Captain Kidd’ they found about fourteen million dollars. Here Poe introduces method of solving a simple substitution, cipher using of cryptogram. How they solve this kind of mysterious cryptogram with the use of their brain and get treasure.