Argument essay 2nd draft

Alexander Schell 809 Argument Essay Second Draft As an author writes more and more stories, it becomes more likely that someone is going to be offended by some of their work. Edgar Allan Poe wrote sixty-seven short stories, thirty-one poems, and one novel, so it’s safe to imagine that some of his work may have been taken the wrong (or right) way, and some people may have attempted to ban him. However, Poe is a brilliant and classical author and his work should not be banned. Edgar Allan Poe’s work can help people to understand his time period better. Poe was born in 1809 and died in 1849. The way that people spoke and wrote back then was completely different than we do now, and most of his work can perfectly capture the differences. For example, in the first page of his story, “William Wilson”, he says, “The fair page now lying before me need not be sullied with my real appellation.” (Poe 1). In this sentence, he says sullied, meaning to stain or tarnish, and appellation, meaning name or title. He then goes on to say, “This has already been too much an object for the scorn—the detestation of my race. To the outermost regions of the globe have not the indignant winds bruited its unparalleled infamy?” I can honestly say that I am not sure what half of this sentence means. My point is that Poe can teach people about the history of our language and how it has become more complex (or less complex, in this case). Much of Poe’s work is told through the eyes of insane people. His stories can help sane people better how the minds of crazy people work. One of the most notable examples of this type of story is “The Tell-Tale Heart”. It is about a man who committed murder simply because he did not like the way an old man’s eyes looked. What I noticed is that throughout the story, the man is convinced that he is not crazy. He even says, “You fancy me mad. Mad men know nothing.” (Poe 4) He is describing a situation which would sound crazy to any sane person, yet he has convinced himself that he is not insane. Poe, unlike many authors, can accurately portray an insane person in his stories, which is probably because he was a little bit insane himself. He once said “I don’t suffer from insanity, but enjoy every minute of it.” He was also an alcoholic who suffered from depression, so…yeah. Lastly, and probably most importantly, Poe’s stories can get people to question their mind and to understand themselves better. In a story called “The Cask of Amontillado”, A man decides to kill his “friend” Fortunato, simply because Fortunato insulted him. This story can make people ask themselves an important question: at what point would I be willing to commit murder? How far over the edge would I have to be driven in order for murder to be my only way out? In another story, “The Black Cat”, it only takes one bad day for a man to kill the one thing he really loves in the world. So, how many bad days could you endure before being driven to insanity? I personally think that I could only handle about six, maybe seven bad days before I just went absolutely insane. Poe can write a good story while also getting the reader to question basically their entire life. After reading Poe’s stories, I can confidently say that they are great works of art and can be appreciated by mature minds. So I’m not saying that Edgar Allan Poe’s work should be put on the shelves of first grade classrooms, but I think that 8 grade students are perfectly capable of understanding and interpreting Poe’s work the way it was meant to be interpreted, and they are capable of not being driven insane by all of the fancy words that his stories contain.