Poe

In all the stories we read from Edgar Allan Poe, they are all sad and depressing. So what is behind this gloom with these different readings? Who really is Edgar Allan Poe?

Edgar Allah Poe had a depressing life. It was a lot for one to go through. First his mom died when he was young from tuberculosis. Also his wife died from this disease as well and his lost his brother. He soon developed a gambling problem and ran into money problems. He was taken in by another family the, Poes, and the father, John, tried to help Poe go back on the right path. But instead they soon parted and Poe went back into a flump.

For most of his stories it is some sense of death occurring. And it is with someone who is close to the character. This is all that Poe knows since all these people that meant something to him and close are dying from the same diseases. So of course all he would write about his death. Because of these deaths it has shaped his perception on life, he questions what really happens after you die. (The Raven). He constantly asks questions about were has his wife gone, to heaven or not. This can be applied directly to his life asking were has his loved ones gone.

Also everyone has this since of madness and going craziness in the characters of the stories. Which Poe was also going crazy himself. Everyone knew him to have this quality. Also he had drinking problems which does alter your mind perception. In "The Raven" the man was ultimately talking to a bird, which is something that can not occur. Getting to the point of arguing with the bird. In "Ligeia" the character was smoking his life away, getting high, having these wild visions not knowing what was occurring. Then he locks his new wife in a bridal chamber which is basically a tomb. That is cray. In "The Fall of the House of Usher" it was this sense of vampire things going on. The man, Roderick, was going crazy being the only left in his family driving himself to death.

This was just how Poe felt on the inside in my opinion, which gave his stories this distinctness. Following this pattern of death and craziness, you knew it was a Poe story.

What is an American?

What is an American? The basic thing you can say is someone who is born in the country of America or a legal citizen of it. America is too diverse to just categorize it as one distinct group. America is based upon immigrants. We are also referred to as the "melting pot" because of the mixture we have as a country. But I can entail some beliefs of an American that can distinguish us from other countries.

Americans have this strong believe behind liberty. That is what our country is based upon. This is what original settlers fought for: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" Then when you enter our country from the common place immigrants came from, you see this image of the Statue of Liberty. What great power that has to truly leave an impression on what the country is about. And Americans know we have this freedom and are liberated. Based on other countries where citizens are prisoners in their own land, they dream to be free and liberated. And we have this luxury. 

Americans also have this sense of entitlement. We feel that we deserve certain things and that may not always be right. This also branches from the idea that we are the land of opportunity. Because of all these options and choices we feel that we our obligated to certain things that may not always be true. You still have to put in the work and build up from something. Nothing is just handed down to you and because we do give things from that opportunity we do get besides ourselves and take advantage of that. We feel entitled to every opportunity that is given but that may not always be the case. For example, scholarships: every one can apply for different scholarships to gain money for school, but if you do not fall under that groups certain qualifications or put in the work for certain grades or activities to get the scholarship, then you will not gain that scholarship. Some people get beside that fact and feel that just because they applied for this opportunity they should get it, which is not the case. Other countries do not have this sense of entitlement. They know they have to work for what they need and are pushed to great limits to get this accomplishments done. Like in China education is not as common so parents push to the farthest extent the importance of education and for their child so that they can gain these opportunities that were not handed to them.

America is a great, powerful country. It is full of many different groups of people which makes us special and brings us together. Being born in this country of being and official citizen of it is what makes you an American, and also to be behind these beliefs and ideas.