Edgar Allan Poe And O Henry

EDGAR ALLAN POE AND O HENRY During the 19th century, authors like Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry dealt with many vicissitudes that shaped their lifestyles. Although O. Henry was actually a writer of the late 19th century, his personal background was reflected in his works of literature just like Edgar Allan Poe's . Edgar Allan Poe defined the true meaning of gothic horrors through literary work such as in his short story, "The Tell Tale Heart." O. Henry portrays his use of irony and twist endings in his story, "The Last Leaf." The author's writings reflect the time period in which they lived and presumably factors like physical and mental health. If Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry lived today, their works would not have been as strong because they would receive the essential tools to recover from their past addictions and inner conflicts. The name Poe brings to mind terrors of madness, insanity and obsession which are aspects of a gothic genre. Edgar Allan Poe encountered various disputes in his life. When Poe was only two years old, his mother, Elizabeth Arnold was very ill and died. Since his parents were separated, Edgar was adopted by John Allan who was a successful merchant. Therefore, Edgar grew up in good surroundings and attended decent schools. Even though John Allan had money, he made Edgar work hard to achieve success. When Edgar was 17, he began to drink alcohol and became heavily in debt which caused him to leave school. Later on, Edgar moved to West Point to become a cadet and he began to live with his grandparents because John Allan stopped supporting him financially. Therefore, Edgar never had a stable home or people to call his true "family." At age 23, he married his cousin, Virginia who was only thirteen years old. He struggled to support his new family and dealt with depression when his beloved died ten days after his birthday. These kinds of issues like, financial trouble and loss of loved ones, were the cause of Edgar's drinking problem. Therefore, he moved to New York City in hopes of pursuing his career as a publisher, where he demonstrated his unique works of literature during the American Romanticism Movement. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Tell Tale Heart", the protagonist confesses that he has an addiction to the vulture eye of an old man. He displays how madness has taken over him mentally and controls his physical behaviors. Edgar Allan Poe's personal background reflects in this piece of literature because he expresses the effects of addiction. Poe was an alcoholic and couldn't get rid of his bad habits which drove him mad, just like the protagonist who had an obsession to relinquish the vulture eye in "The Tell Tale Heart." The protagonist lacks mental health and behaves madly when he tries to destroy the eye, he states , " It is impossible to say how the idea first entered my mind. I had no reason to do it, I loved the old man. He had never done anything wrong to me." This shows that the protagonist had no reason to kill the old man but for his "evil eye." This illusion was in his head but it was madness that made him believe it was necessary to destroy the old man and his eye. This relates to Edgar Allan Poe's background because losing his wife, Virginia, drove him mad. He'd gone through stress and it took time to recover his mental health. He was not in the right mind set to be working or managing a healthy lifestyle due to alcoholism and depression. His death continues being a mystery today. Most people believe that he died due to alcoholism. According to Dr. Benitez, "Poe had become so hypersensitive to alcohol in his later years that he became ill for days after only one glass of wine." This shows that his body couldn't take the consumption of alcohol anymore because of how much he had already consumed from when he was addicted. At first, Edgar was in denial about being an alcoholic. The protagonist in the short story had a similar issue that is proven when he states, "TRUE!-nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" This quote displays the use of imagery because it allows one to visualize how nervous he is. Furthermore, the quote shows how the murderer is also in denial of being mad and how he is trying to convey his innocence. Edgar Allan Poe relates to the psychotic character in "The Tell Tale Heart" because he reflects his personal experiences and inner conflicts into the character who has an addiction similar to his own. Being in denial is a characteristic that Edgar Allan Poe absorbed as a child and he reflected that aspect of his life into the characters he created in his works. O' Henry is well known for publishing over three hundred stories. Despite his popularity, he struggled through problems both mentally and physically. His mother, Mrs. Algernon Sidney Porter, died from consumption when O. Henry was only three which affected his mental health. He lost a parent at a very young age which caused him to be impacted mentally. His physical lifestyle changed because he did not have a stable family and he had to live with his grandmother and aunt. He received a decent education but later, he was troubled by ill- health and alcoholism because of all the difficulties he faced throughout his life. William Sydney Porter, otherwise known as O. Henry, worked for the First National Bank of Austin as a teller and bookkeeper. However, tension rose when Porter was accused by the bank of theft and he lost his job. At the time, he was devastated because his wife, Athol was ill and suffering from tuberculosis. After her tragic death, O. Henry was arrested on charges for embezzlement and remained in prison for five years because he was found guilty. As a licensed pharmacist, he worked in the prison hospital as the night druggist. Therefore, O. Henry began to write in his own room where he reflected his tragic life in his work of fourteen published stories. "The Last Leaf", by O. Henry is the quintessential story in which best demonstrates the use of irony and twist endings. The short story is about a girl, Johnsy, who suffered from pneumonia but survived because of the hope the last leaf gave her. She watched the leaves fall down a tree each day and believed that once the last leaf had fallen, her life would come to an end. The last leaf is what gave her hope to live and survive the deadly disease, but in the end, the author creates a twist that surprises the audience. The speaker states, "Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's Behrman's masterpiece- he painted it there the night the last leaf fell." This quote shows that the last leaf had actually fallen, but the old man created an artistic masterpiece that always kept the last leaf present. He did not want the young girl to give up on life or lose hope. The old man died of pneumonia in the hospital but before his death, he made sure that he gave Johnsy a motive to live for. The author demonstrates irony because throughout the short story, the audience believes that there is actually a last leaf hanging outside her window. However, the author thrills the readers by changing the tone of the story from certainty that the last leaf exists into surprise that it was only a masterpiece made in order for her to maintain hope. Just like his life was full of surprises, O. Henry displays surprise endings in his well known works. The death of O. Henry's mother and wife was a big shock for him and he had a rough time accepting his losses. As a child, he came from a wealthy family and when he grew up, it was surprising that he was suffering financially. It was difficult for him to find a decent job and when he began working in a bank, it led to imprisonment. At that point of his life, he had given up and the only thing that gave him hope to continue living was his writings. In "The Last Leaf" , O. Henry reflects his background because just like he had been overwhelmed mentally and physically, so was his main character Johnsy when she says, “I want to see the last one fall. I’m tired of waiting, I’m tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.” The protagonist was also at a point in her life where she felt like giving up just like the "poor, tired leaves." This shows a connection between the character and the author because they both been struggling to overcome their greatest challenges. Johnsy struggled to survive pneumonia, whereas the author struggled with mental health as an alcoholic. O. Henry's writings reflect his time period and factors like mental and physical health because he was an alcoholic who was weak-willed. In addition, the character he portrays in his story is also mentally and physically weak because she strives to maintain hope and control her strength. O. Henry reflects his personal life experiences in his work and it is proven because he shares similar traits as the characters he creates in his works. If Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry lived today, their individual backgrounds might have differently shape their works of literature. In their time period, they did not receive assistance for their lack of mental health and alcoholism. Today, both authors would be open to various opportunities such as therapy, counseling, and reasonable psychology. These opportunities would have helped Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry to recover from their addictions because assistance facilities like rehab, help people by providing drug treatments as well as improving their mental health. If authors of the 19th century were exposed to the opportunities of American society today, then the author's respective life would have not shaped their works as strong as if they lived during the American Romanticism Movement. Edgar Allan Poe was capable of portraying themes of madness and insanity because in his time period, he lacked mental health and reflected his experiences in his writing. With the programs and health care today, Poe's work would not be as strong because he would have not struggled as much if he received aid that was available. The difficulties Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry faced are what pushed them to develop such strong works and if they were in rehab for their addictions today, they would receive the essential tools to improve their mental health. Therefore, with improved mental health, the theme of madness would not exist in Poe's writing, neither would his writing have a gothic genre. If Edgar Allan Poe was to publish his works today, a possible theme he would include in his stories would be hope, possibly because he'd reflect it on how he overcame obstacle. Twist endings for example, would not be as affective in O. Henry's work because he would have learned how to deal with sudden deaths. In conclusion, authors such as O. Henry and Edgar Allan Poe, encountered various hardships in which were reflected in their writings. "The Tell Tale Heart " and "The Last Leaf" both include some aspects of the author's respective life because the authors reflect their personal background among their characters in the stories. Poe and O. Henry reflect the aspects of physical and mental health in their writings. If these authors lived in the modern society today, their writings would have been different because the themes of madness and literary devices such as irony would have not be strongly demonstrated. In order to reflect their work, the writers must have been through a difficult time period , but today, there are professionals like therapists who help bring about a positive change in people's lives. Although Edgar Allan Poe and O.Henry lacked mental health, they were able to accomplish successful work that impacted literature of the modern world.