1

Allan Poes Life in his Works

Name:

Institution:

Course:

Date:
 2

Allan Poes Life in his Works

Edgar Allan Poe lifestyle is reflected in most of his works; Edgar Poe endured a difficult

life that is evident in most of his literary works. His writing style in most of his literary works is

influenced by his lifestyle; his life was characterized by social isolation, periods of fear and

irrationality. Moreover, throughout some good part of his life, he struggled with alcoholism, his

literary works represent the common nightmares and hysteria that characterize the careful

structure live of individuals. His writing style also reveals his thoughts about death because they

are his favorite topics, his unique writing style is imperative in defining his life because he

concentrated on writing about the tragedies in his life. Edgar Poe was love stricken because he

loved all the people in his life and often faced betrayal and lived a depressing life because he lost

most of the people he loved. His stories like the cask of Amontillado represent his life through

the characters and reflect on the life events.

Edgar Poes life was characterized by isolation which he writes in the Cask of

Amontillado; his life is reflected in one of the characters, Fortunato. In the Cask of Amontillado,

the main character Fortunato suffers isolation in the story; he is left to die in the catacombs after

being tricked by fathers love. Because Edgar Poe suffered a loss and was love stricken in his

life, he used Fortunato as the character to represent his life where the people he loved betrayed

him and made him live a sad life. His love life influenced his writing style by using Fortunato as

the character to represent his lifestyle and experiences. Most of his characters in his works have

psychological problems that symbolize his period of depression1; Fortunato is the center focus in

1
Johnson, Claudia Durst (2010), Social and psychological disorder in the works of Edgar Allan

Poe, Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

 3

the Cask of Amontillado. The story opens with Montresor planning how to kill Fortunato

because of the anger and hatred he has for him, and he is filled with vengeance for the event that

occurred fifty years ago. His works are characterized by extreme hate or love because, in his life,

he had faced various scenarios of love and hate.

Edgar Poe uses his unique writing skills in the Cask of Amontillado to represent his life

in writing. Throughout his life he struggles with alcoholism, he had become enslaved in

alcoholism and was struggling with the effects of alcoholism in his life. Edgar uses Fortunato in

the Cask of Amontillado as a character that represents his struggle with alcoholism, just like he

struggled with alcohol; Edgar Poe decided to write through Fortunato. Throughout the story,

Fortunato is portrayed as an individual who was kind and ends up being buried alive because of

his thirst for the rare Amontillado. Fortunato incidence traces back to the carnival function that

everyone had attended, the air is filled with vengeance when Montresor bumps into Fortunato

during the carnival, as the two get along with their pretense of everything being fine, they

proceed to the catacombs where Fortunato meets his fate in the story. Montresor knew the

weakness of Fortunato because of his addiction to alcohol; he knew he could not resist the rare

Amontillado that was deep in the catacombs. The addiction of Fortunato to alcohol in the story

symbolizes the struggle against alcoholism in the life of Edgar Poe. Moreover, it reflects on the

life of Edgar when he becomes enslaved to alcohol. Poes idea of evil drinking is used in the

story because eventually, Fortunato ends up being lured by his love for wine that led to his death,
 4

the issue of evil drinking is important because it is destructive and overpowering just as in his

life when struggling with alcoholism2.

Although Poe loved life, his thoughts focused mostly on death; the feelings are reflected

in most of his works as one of the themes. In the Cask of Amontillado, Poe effectively uses his

thoughts in the story by focusing on the characters life, in the story, the main character faces

death at the end. Fortunato attempted to avoid the red death by hiding himself together with his

friends. Moreover, Fortunato is lured to death by the rare wine of Amontillado that Montresor

claims to have by the catacombs. Poes literary works reflect his thoughts of death through the

characters, the Cask of Amontillado represents the thoughts of Poe when the story changes to the

motives of Montresor during the carnival event. His death at the catacombs is described to show

the thoughts of the author about death, moreover, when Fortunato attempts to avoid death, the

author effectively describes the scenario to explain his thoughts about death3. Furthermore, Poes

miserable life is reflected in the story through Fortunato through the challenges and trouble he

undergoes till his death and his love for the things Poe likes.

Most elements of Poes life are reflected in his works, the Cask of Amontillado reflects

the struggle from alcoholism, his thoughts about death and the isolation he suffered through the

main character, Fortunato. Poes life finds its way into his works because his life influenced his

style of writing.

2
Meltzer, Milton (2003), Edgar Allan Poe: a biography, Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century

Books.

3
Poe, Edgar Allan (1980). The cask of amontillado, Mankato, MN: Creative Education.
 5

Works Cited

Johnson, Claudia Durst (2010), Social and psychological disorder in the works of Edgar Allan

Poe, Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Meltzer, Milton (2003), Edgar Allan Poe: a biography, Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century

Books.

Poe, Edgar Allan and Byron Glaser (1980), The cask of amontillado, Mankato, MN: Creative

Education.