I.S.F.D. N°30 Profesorado de Inglés Language & Written Expression IV
Romero Eliana Assignment #4, Draft #2 Prof. Blas Bigatti - 2014
Poe´s distinct writing style: an analysis through young adults’ preferences “I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.”(1)
These words belong to the well- known writer, Edgar Allan Poe, who became an exponent in the nineteenth century. He introduced the Gothic genre in American Literature and that is the reason why his name is commonly associated to horror and mystery. Nowadays, his famous works continue captivating many readers through his particular style of writing and the Gothic fiction illustrated in his tales. This paper will focus on a precise story, The black cat, and the connection that it has to Young Adult Literature. Donelson and Nilsen define YAL as “anything that readers between the approximate ages of twelve and twenty chose to read (as opposed to what they may be coerced to read for class assignments)” (2). Probably, it could be considered that Poe´s fiction is only appropriate for adult readers because of their controversial topics that generally include death, violence, alcoholism, supernatural, love and hate; but it is a wrong perception. Despite not being intended to young adults, The black cat can be appealing for them because of the themes developed throughout the story. In order to understand Poe´s style, it is important to define Gothic Literature. Poe brought Gothic to America during the Victorian era. This genre explores the dark side of human experience such as alienation, death, nightmares and ghosts (3). Poe combines the unknown with horror and mystery developing a unique style of writing. The unexplained issues generate in young adult readers a sense of curiosity and it motivates them to continue reading. According to Herz & Gallo (1996), YAL deals with many universal themes such as alienation from one´s society or group, survival or meeting a challenge, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce, family conflicts and dealing with death. These authors affirm “these are issues and topics that all students can benefit from reading and discussing” (4). This is the first coincidence between adolescents’ interests and Gothic literature proposed by Poe. Poe´s fiction deals with the similar topics and issues that are proposed by Herz and Gallo. That is why adolescents might feel engaged when reading The black cat. In this analysis, The black cat (1843) has been selected to find out the relation between the relevant topics the story presents and young adult preferences. In The black cat, the narrator tells the readers that he and his wife are pet lovers and describes his favourite one as a smart black cat named Pluto. This animal is special for him until he starts drinking alcohol and becomes violent with the cat and his wife. Alcoholism turns his life in an uncontrollable chaos and converts him in a murderer. The protagonist kills his pet hanging the cat from a tree. Surprisingly, a new cat with similar characteristics appears in the narrator´s life. Finally,