Some Writings of Edgar Allen Poe

"Happily ever after," this is an ending used in most stories I was used to reading as a child. That is until I read a story written by Edgar Allan Poe. He defiantly didn't stick to the traditional happy endings. Maybe it had something to do with his life. Poe didn't have the best life, he had a drinking problem, and many of his journeys lead him to write the way he did. Now we can step away from the fairy tale ending, and read something out of the ordinary. This can be a good thing, because when we feel like our lives are falling apart, we can pick read a story written by Poe and realize that we could be worse off.

Death, death, and more death, it seems to be a pattern in Poe's short stories. "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "Hop Frog" all ended with some one dying. However, there were some differences in these stories. In "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" I got the feeling the characters had been affected by what they had done. In "The Tell-Tale Heart" the murderer basically turned himself in because of what he "heard." In "The Cask of Amontillado" Montressor can't seem to forget what he did, even though it is fifty years later. "Hop Frog" was a little different. After Hop Frog murdered he just left, never to be seen again. I don't believe he felt any guilt for his actions. Another important factor both "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" had in common is the style of writing. Both are written in first person. This only allows us to hear the murderers' side of the story. We don't know if what we are being told is true or not. In fact, both characters are insane to some extent so chances are they aren't telling us the complete truth. "Hop Frog" was told in third person so we aren't aware of what is going on in Hop Frogs mind. In "The Cask of Amontillado" Montressor planned his crime out well, so did the murderer in "The Tell-Tale Heart," but Montressor was the one who got away with the murder. In "Hop Frog" the murders took place in front of a large crowd, but he left and wasn't seen again, so he was obviously not caught.

Looking for clues to foreshadow coming events is very vital when reading one of Poe's short stories. By paying very close attention to the beginning of "Hop Frog" when I read it over the second time I found several of these clues. One of the first facts that were referred to again in the end was when the narrator told the reader how Hop Frog was capable of leaping and climbing like a monkey. Later in the story Hop Frog leaped up onto the King's head and eventually climbed up the chain to his escape. His name also gives hints to how is going to eventually get away from the crowd and the fire. Another thing that caught my attention was the way the King used Hop Frog as a practical joke, and to make himself laugh. This is an ironic situation, because in the end Hop Frog turns it around and has the last laugh. The noise the King heard in the beginning of the story shows that the he has a scared side as well. So, when the sound is brought back up in the end we can assume that the King is feeling somewhat scared. The King put