My thesis statement is that Edgar Allan Poe's writings illuminate his upbringing. His writings illuminate his upbringing because his childhood was very hard, full of darkness, and he never experienced love from a parent. Therefore he thought the world was like his life was, dark and dreary. So that is why his stories are always sad, and full of heartbreak.
The writings by Edgar Alan Poe are for the most part sad, dark, dreary, and mysterious, they are just like how his life was. After the age of two Poe never had real parents only people who looked after him after his parents died. He didn't know if his home was only temporary or if it was for good, for all he knew the people he was living with could kick him out of their house and stop supporting him. He lived his life day by day not knowing what the next day would bring or if he would have a house to live in the next day.
1848 Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe at 39, a yea...
Edgar Allan Poe's house in the Bronx. Photo taken ...
English: Photo of Edgar Allan Poe's Monument/Grave...His future was never certain, he didn't have anything in life to look forward to, and he didn't know where his life was leading him. Just like in his book "The Cask Of Amontillado" where Montressor leads Fortunato down a dark set of circling stairs, and Fortunato doesn't know that Montressor is leading him to his future which is his death. That is like Poe's life because Poe doesn't know where his live is heading just like Fortunato doesn't know where he is going walking those dark stairs. Everything in Poe's future is dark and dreary, not clear as to what is going to be next for him.
When Poe was younger he went to the English and Classical School which the sons of upper class families attended. Since Poe came from a relatively poor family, he didn't feel like he fit in very well. He felt like an outcast, even though he was most likely smarter than most of the other kids he wasn't brought up the same way. That is the same theme as in another book he wrote called "Great Expectations", where the main character, Pip, goes through the same problems that Poe did. Pip's parents died when he was very young and he was relatively poor. He got a job working with a very rich lady who had a daughter Pip's age. Pip fell in love with her but he felt different because they were on two totally different social levels. Pip was poor and the lady he worked for was very rich. Also the house that Pip worked in was very dreary, and the curtains were always closed and no light was allowed in the house except for candles. So that gives the impression of sadness and that is just how Poe felt like in his life.
Edgar Allan Poe never got any breaks in his lifetime, everything he got he worked very hard for. Since he never got any breaks in his life he never took anything for granted, that is why his writings were always so successful. He put a lot of time and effort into his writings, and they were similar to his own life. Also, since he always had to work for everything he wanted once he was able to write a book he worked even harder so he wouldn't lose what he had earned, and that is why his writings are still talked about today.
That concludes my thesis paper, all of those proof paragraphs prove that Edgar Allan Poe's writings illuminate his upbringing. Now that I have done research on Poe I understand why his writings are the way they are, and I think that he is probably one of the best writers ever because of everything he overcame to become a writer.
Illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Cask...
Illustration by Édouard Manet for a French transl...
English: Edgar Allan Poe's room