shtuff4avacadoes In reply to ladyjart [2013-09-09 19:53:52 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for telling me! I joined it.

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shtuff4avacadoes In reply to Zoomer58 [2012-05-18 01:19:21 +0000 UTC]

Mais oui! I am huge Poe fan.

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Zoomer58 In reply to shtuff4avacadoes [2012-05-18 02:17:57 +0000 UTC]

Hurray! I wrote a book on Poe called "Edgar Allan Poe: Rhetoric and Style." You might want to look into it when you reach university and go on to become a famous Poe professor yourself!

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shtuff4avacadoes In reply to Zoomer58 [2012-07-27 22:28:21 +0000 UTC]

That sounds great! Is it available in public libraries, or just in universities? You are a Poe professor?

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Zoomer58 In reply to shtuff4avacadoes [2012-07-28 03:16:58 +0000 UTC]

Hi Panda! It might be in some public libraries if they are large ones, but it's more likely to be found in university libraries. It's on sale at the McGill-Queen's website and is rather expensive, even moreso on Amazon. Yes, in a few weeks I'll be teaching my fall-term course on Eddy. While the department just cancelled one of my courses due to a lack of student interest, the Poe course is always quick to fill.

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shtuff4avacadoes In reply to Zoomer58 [2012-10-03 02:19:02 +0000 UTC]

Sorry for the late reply, but better late than never.
The next time I visit one of my sisters, I will definitely ask the one I'm with to bring me to the library so I can read your book. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get your book published?
Which course got cancelled?
I would like to ask you your opinion about Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado." Do you think that he is the protagonist or the antagonist? My English teacher this year believes that he is the antagonist, but she won't listen to my argument of why he is the protagonist. I think Montresor is the protagonist because the story is told from his point of view, he is the main character, he never gets nervous or guilty, and he sees killing Fortunato as an act of justice. My English teacher says that he is the antagonist because he kills Fortunato and Poe did not write tales of joyous success. I understand her points, but the murder is only a negative depending on one's morals, and Poe could have aimed for a different type of scare than his usual. The Montresor family crest is focused completely on revenge, so he clearly grew up in an environment where murder is not the most heinous crime. Instead of an obvious horror, like in "The Tell-Tale Heart," perhaps Poe wanted to scare us with subtle psychological horror. This is getting long, so in short: do you think Montresor is the protagonist or the antagonist?

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Zoomer58 In reply to shtuff4avacadoes [2012-10-04 22:22:54 +0000 UTC]

Late indeed, Panda! But no matter. Ah, the arguments that Poe studies initiate! I'm teaching my Poe course now and a few days ago argued with a student about whether or not Prospero in "The Masque of the Red Death" is a Gothic villain. I think he shares traits with that type, the student thought not. I don't care anymore. As for your question, it never occurred to me that Montresor is anything but the protagonist since, indeed, we hear about his fortunes and are given the narrative by him. We learn almost nothing about Fortunato. Now, I'm going by very simple and straightforward definitions of the terms; it may be that you and your teacher have a more complex understanding of what they mean and entail, so I don't want to come between you two or cause trouble for her--i.e., undermine her authority. Whether or not the murder "is only a negative," or what kind of scare Poe was aiming at, seem not to the point. Montresor is acting out a code of revenge (centering on the concepts of personal and family honour) that we certainly find in Renaissance literature such as Benvenuto Cellini's Autobiography and, in our own time, the Godfather saga--a code of conduct in conflict with traditional Christian morals. That M. is telling the story after so long suggests, perhaps, some stirrings of conscience on his part but this is the only successful murder in the Poe canon, it seems--whether M. ever thought of it as "joyous success" or not, I don't know.

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shtuff4avacadoes In reply to Berry-Melon [2012-05-10 19:10:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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