As I was reading The Devil in the Belfry, I kept thinking that there was some deep, dark secret about the man of the Belfry that we would discover in the next line or so. Turns out, that the devil was the one who changed their highly regimented routine.  It was pretty depressing for me to read about an entire town, terrified of change, or anything different, with none of the inhabitants finding their situation to be confining.  I began to get a bit of a potential-utopia feel soon after beginning the story.  Utopias always scare me; they're so creepy and sterile and the same (I know, it's the point, but they're still weird).  Also, I bet it was pretty stinky around these folks , what with all the cabbage and pork they consumed--do you think they were regular?

Some Questions-They'll be posted on the discussion board:

• How do you deal with interruptions of interlopers to your routine?  Do you eventually appreciate the change, more often than not?
• Being fully aware of how little time we actually have, why did these people find it acceptable to waste away their days watching a clock?  Were they a metaphor for the "worker bee" of today's society?
• Why did the children not try to run away? All the adults would have been too scared to run after them. 

Anyone who did not immediately jump to the conclusion (given the title and the fact that we're reading Poe) that The Oblong Box contained a body is simply not paying attention.  I did like the mystery involved, but people of that time period sure are outwardly nosy, aren't they?  Imagine how difficult it was for Mr. Wyatt to travel knowing his blushing bride was rotting away in the floor next to him.  Obviously it was excruciating, the man did drown himself over the thoughts of leaving her to the whims of the waters alone.  

Some questions (They're also on the Discussion Board):

• Are you as nosy as the man on the ship? Do you pry into the personal and private details of another's business?  (Sometimes I want to, but I don't because I don't want to look like a weirdo.)
• Would it have been better (or more calming as a passenger) to know that the box contained an embalmed body, packed in salt?  (The narrator said that it smelled fairly strong.)
• How would you have handled the situation, if you were the captain?
• Why was the narrator so openly nosy?

Once I began to read Some Words with a Mummy, I am pretty sure that I read it in high school, either way, I got more out of it this time.  The electrified monster is a recurring theme in fantasy and mystery writings, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein  and I think I remember a movie on the Disney Channel (Underwraps, if I'm not mistaken) that followed a mummy that came back to life.  Poe's re-invigorated mummy presents different moral, ethical, and historical questions than the others. I found the juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern particularly thought-provoking.   

Some questions: 

• What if history really is written this way? What have we gotten wrong so far?
• What happens when the mummy is never revived?
• At what intervals would you choose to pause and restart your life? Would it be continuous? Or disjointed?
• Would you really want to live for 800 years?
• How much progress have we really made since ancient Egypt?
• Who or what would you like to bring back to life that is currently and has been dead or extinct? Would you be interested purely in the novelty, in the potential knowledge, or a combination of the two?
• If we could travel forwards in time, would the converse apply?

Are you enjoying Poe April? I know I am! Share your thoughts/comments here and join in on the discussion boards!

Have fun eating with your families this weekend!!

This is just an update on our reading schedule for the second week of April. Here are your links yo, and I only linked ones that are less likely to hurt your eyes.  As last week, I tried to keep it around 50 pages worth of reading (I am using my book as a guide), so it should not be overwhelming.  You can get all of this read in a couple of hours, max. I hope these are as good as the first round. 

April 8-14, 2012

1. The Devil in the Belfry
2. The Oblong Box
3. Some Words with a Mummy 
   
4. Landor's Cottage
5. Silence-A Fable
6. The Purloined Letter

So, my response post for The Devil in the Belfry, The Oblong Box, and Some Words with a Mummy will be up on Tuesday, April 10, along with questions regarding reach reading on the discussion board. And my response to Landor's Cottage, Silence-A Fable, and The Purloined Letter will be up Friday, April 13 (how appropriate), as well as questions for each of those stories.   

I think I like how we are reading new Poe stories.  As you can see, I tried to continue that trend this week and intend to do so during the third week.  If you have suggestions of a story that you would like to read, just leave a comment.  I am thinking that the fourth week we will read some with which we are more familiar. Let me know if you are itching for one in particular, otherwise, I will choose on a whim. . . 

Thank you all for reading and responding!! I love your comments!

I don't know about you all, but I was decidedly underwhelmed as I read The Man of the Crowd. I kept thinking that something awesome would happen, like a knife fight or a murder or a drug deal, alas nothing of the sort occurred. Not to mention the fact that the narrator was already sick. . . and walking around in the rain. . . all night long. Was I the only one who found that odd? Am I being overly critical?

Anyway, a few questions occurred to me along the way--I will post them to the discussion board as well:

• Do you often people watch? Do you make up stories about those people's histories? 'Cause I do, and I don't want to feel like the only freak. . . 
• Is the Man in the Crowd so guilty about something that he cannot stand to be alone? Is that his problem?
• Is he a symbolism for guilt, just being generally unsettled? Was his physical bouncing back and forth indicative of his internal state?
• Was the Man simply avoiding problems?
• Was the Man an alcoholic?? (He was only happy when had a little gin. . . )

Maybe Poe meant The Angel of the Odd as a warning, but I found myself laughing the whole way through.  It's quite strange, though the initial exchange in the bedroom reminded me of Crime and Punishment.  I kind of want to build the Angel of the Odd. . . am I the only one.  I think it would be more than just a conversation starter.  I mean to fit it with the insides of Teddy Ruxpin (yes I have one still) and really freak people out with it. I am picturing a drunken version of the Tin Man. (Am I alone in this?)

Did anyone else catch the fact that runaway wives and apprentices were listed in the same column? Are they equally inconsequential?  The main character seemed a little self-righteous wanting to cure journalistic falsehoods, don't you think?

Here are some questions that popped into my strange little head while I read:

• Is this story Poe's ramblings on fate and his belief on our inability to alter what will happen to us?
• Did you get the sense that Poe was more rambly than usual?
• Was this the narrator's dream? Or a drug trip gone terribly bad?

We will discuss this further on the discussion board.  Or you can leave some comments here. I love to read your thoughts!

This was intended to be released last night, but the Internet at my house was uncooperative.  Oh well, it gave me the opportunity to catch up on all my reading and plan a little for next week. 

So, be honest, who really expected to find an orangutan responsible for such a massacre??? Really.  It seemed to appear out of nowhere.  

Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille L'Espanaye kind of gave me a Great Expectations-type feeling, but I think that could just be because of their lifestyle and that they were hulled up on the fourth floor of their home.  I was convinced from the start that Dupin was the murder and I am not so sure that this is not the case. ( I am suspicious of people who want to remain constantly in the darkness.)   I would kind of like to see an orangutan shave; I think it would be interesting.  Overall, I liked the Sherlock Holmes feel of it all.  I was constantly on edge while reading, sure that the next line would reveal Dupin as his true self. I did not trust the narrator either; since he voluntarily associated himself with Dupin, he was automatically suspicious, in my mind at least.  (I realize this was a bit of a stream of consciousness, but those were some of my thoughts.)

This story raises interesting questions regarding morality, the importance of the truth and imagination, and remaining too close to a problem while trying to discern its solution.  We will discuss these and others in the discussion boards this week and through out the month.  The devil is definitely in the details. 

I feel one is supposed to close his book remembering to keep an open mind when faced with a seemingly impossible situation.  What about you all?? Thoughts on the main point of this story??

Here are some of the questions I asked myself after completing The Murders in the Rue Morgue:

• Who is at fault for the murder? The sailor? The orangutan?  Without the sailor bringing the animal into the city, this would not have happened, not under these circumstances at least. 
• If we are going to claim that animals have certain "rights" and the orangutan should not have been whipped and contained in a closet, is the animal not at fault for its actions?  If so, what is a just punishment for an orangutan? Does it even understand what it has done or if its actions were wrong?  If the orangutan does understand its actions, should we draft a bill of rights for primates??
• Do you feel the police altered their future approaches to seemingly unsolvable crimes?

I found Hop-Frog more than slightly disturbing.  Also, I was surprised to find that I blindly chose 2 stories to be read back-to-back that included orangutans.  Granted in two totally different aspects of the story.  

This story also touches on morality and the justification of one's actions.  We will discuss this on the discussion board.  

I at first felt some sympathy for Hop-Frog and Trippetta, but that soon left once I realized everything they were willing to do to their captors.  Before you jump all over me, hear me out.  Once the king and his cronies were chained together and in the party, the two of them could have easily escaped (since it was easy enough to place such important people into such a compromising position).  There was no reason for the two of them to kill the king and his clan.  That was cruel; yes, the king held them hostage and humiliated them repeatedly, but their actions were entirely uncalled for and deplorable.  

Here are some questions I asked myself after finishing Hop-Frog:

• Should we, as individuals, expect punishments to rival the cruelty and violence of the crime committed? If so, what does this say about our civilization and morality?
• What is the significance of orangutans for Poe? Is he obsessed? Or did he just not have another scary animal to use?
  
• When does one man's humor cross the line?  Does all humor not poke fun of someone, somewhere, at some time?  
• Why did the king think it was ok to allow himself to be tarred and covered in dry flax, then walk into a ballroom lit only with the moon and torches???
• Does the removal by force of one man from his home and the subsequent dehumanization of him and his friend merit such a violent and malicious attack on his captors?

Please share your thoughts on these two stories!! And join in on the discussion. I love yo read your comments!!!