Allan Poe's Motivations to Adopt the First Person Narrative in Fictions Based on the Black Cat and the Murders in the Rue Morgue

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
© 2019 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal
Volume 6 Issue 1
Year of Publication : 2019
Authors : Li Zhang, Huijuan Li
pdf
How to Cite?

Li Zhang, Huijuan Li, "Allan Poe's Motivations to Adopt the First Person Narrative in Fictions Based on the Black Cat and the Murders in the Rue Morgue," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 6,  no. 1, pp. 23-27, 2019. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V6I1P105

Abstract:

Edgar Allan Poe, a 19th century American poet, literary critic, and novelist, is an important member of the American Romantic trend of thought. He is the master of short stories, in which Poe employs a lot the first-person narrative. Based on the Gothic novel “The Black Cat” and the detective novel “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, this paper explores reasons why Allan Poe mainly uses the first-person narrative in his short novels from his life experience, the fiction creation and the reader response. Among them, the fiction creation could be analyzed from limitations of topic selection, characterization, effects of story and thematic function. By analyzing Poe’s motivations to adopt the first-person narrative in fictions, this paper aims to give readers a better understanding and insight into Poe's novel creation.

Keywords:

Allan Poe, the first-person narrative, motivations

References:

[1] Bonaparte, M. (1949). The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe: A Psycho-analytic Interpretation. Trans. John Rodker. London: Imago.
[2] Cao, M. (2001). ―A Comparison of the Psychological Tendencies Between Allan Poe and Meng Jiao in Creation‖. Journal of South-Cental University for Nationalities (Humanities and Social Science), No.3, pp.84-86.[曹曼.(2001). 爱伦坡与孟郊创作心理定势之比较[J].中南民族学院学报(人文社会科学版), No.3, pp.84-86.]
[3] Currie, M. (2003). Postmodern Narrative Theory. Trans. Yizhong Ning. Beijing: The Peking University Publishing House.[ 马克·柯里.(2003). 后现代叙事理论[M]. 宁一中译. 北京:北京大学出版社.]
[4] Hillis Miller, J. (2007). On Literature. Trans. Liyan Qin. Nanning: Guangxi Normal University Press. [J•希利斯•米勒.(2007).《文学死了吗》[M],秦立彦译. 桂林:广西师范大学出版社.]
[5] Jia, L.L. (2013). ―An Aesthetic Interpretation of the Ugly World Described by Allan Poe‖. Journal of Central South University of forestry &Technology (Social Sciences),No.2, pp.137-138.[贾琳琳.(2013). 爱伦 • 坡笔下丑恶世界的美学阐释[J]. 中南民族学院学报(人文社会科学版), No.2, pp.137-151.
[6] Kearns, M. (1999). Rhetorical Narratology. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press.
[7] Liu, L.L. (2003). ―A Modern Interpretation of The Fall of the House of Usher. Foreign Literature Studies‖, No. 4, pp.19-
23.[刘俐俐.(2003).《厄歇尔府的倒塌》的现代阐释[J].外国文学研究. No. 4 ,pp.19-23.]
[8] Liu, Q. (2012). Study on the Narration of Allan Poe’s Short Novels. Jiangxi Normal University. [刘琴.(2012). 爱伦·坡短篇小说叙事研究[D].江西师范大学.]
[9] McMichael, G. (1980). Anthology of American Literature. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
[10] Miao, C.H. (2010). On the Grotesque and Terror Style of Allan Poe's Novels. Shanghia Normal University. [苗翠华.(2010). 论爱伦•坡小说的怪诞与恐怖风格[D]. 上海师范大学.]
[11] Pi, A. H. (2009). ―A Solemn Elegy Written in a Bloody Evening —Analysis of theMajor Characters in Dry September‖. Journal of Central South University of forestry &Technology (Social Sciences),No.5, pp.142-145. [皮爱红. (2009). 血色黄昏中的人性悲歌——《干旱的九月》中的人物解读 [J]. 中南林业科技大学学报,No. 5, pp.142-145.]
[12] Quinn, A. H. (1998). Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
[13] Shang, A.P. (2010). ―The Rich Connotation of death theme in Allan Poe’s works‖. Journal of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University(Social Science Edition), No. 3, pp. 211-213. [尚爱萍.(2010). 爱伦•坡作品死亡主题的丰富内涵[J]. 内蒙古农业大学学报(社会科学版), No.3, pp. 211-213.]
[14] Shen, D. (2010).Western Narratology: Classical and Postclassical. Beijing: The Peking University Publishing House.[申丹.(2010). 西方叙事学:经典与后经典[ M] .北京:北京大学出版社.]
[15] Silverman, K., ed. (1993). New Essays on Poe’s Major Tales. London: Cambridge University Press.
[16] Spiller, R. E. (1990). The Cycle of American Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
[17] Yan, Z. S. (2004). ―Dialectics between the signifier and intersubjectivity—Lacan’s alternative interpretation of ―The purloined letter‖‖.Foreign Literature Studies, No.1, pp.16-23. [严泽胜.(2004). 能指与主体间性的辩证法——拉康对《被窃的信》的另类解读[J].外国文学研究, No.1, pp.16-23.]
[18] Yu, L. (2012). ―A Critical Review of 21st-Century Western Studies of Edgar Allan Poe’s Fiction‖. Contemporary Foreign Literature, No. 2, pp.157-167.[于雷.(2012). 新世纪国外爱伦 • 坡小说的研究评述[J].当代外国文学, No. 2, pp.157-167.]