Edgar Allan Poe Racism

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Kennedy, Weissberg and University Press article claims that Poe’s made a façade of racism to make a living during the Antebellum period. It was a time prior to the Civil War and during the abolition movement. Southern states wanted to keep slavery to maintain their riches. The audience of publishers were mixed between narrow-minded and closed-minded individuals. Like many other publishers Poe’s works were brought about by the fear of poverty and racist stereotypes being depicted in many works of the time. “The Complete Tales and Poems of Allen Poe” consist of subtle racist remarks. Mastroianni and Studies in American Fiction disagrees with the previous claim in terms of the meaning behind the racist remarks. They believe the racist remarks…show more content…
There was a lot of mixed feelings on the enslavement of blacks, during that time frame. The southern states were holding onto their old ways that another human being could be considered property. Inspiration of previous writers, before my time is hard to infer. This makes it hard to determine, if Poe is racist. I believe Edgar Allen Poe’s tales reflect his racist tendencies and pro-slavery views. Some of his early works, which reflect his views include The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. Poe’s narrative shows signs of how he considers Whites as superior beings that should never mix with Blacks. He mentions in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Africans as inferior beings that is a concern on a national level. The narrative supports that Poe is racist, has pro-slavery views and along with stereotypes. Poe believes human beings can be considered property based on…show more content…
After Pym’s encounter with cannibalism and lack of water, Pym uses an axe to pry open the storeroom leading to discovery of food. They found wine, ham, olives and Galapagos tortoise. Comparisons are made about the elephant tortoise, such as heavy, slow and huge. He describes it as, “singular, even disgusting” (Poe, 608). They used the tortoise pouches as a source for water without killing it. The men learned the following day, two jars of olives and ham were washed away by the sea and were surrounded by sharks. Because provisions were low the tortoise was eaten, but with the lack of water Augustus health worsened. Augustus passed away from dehydration and depression. Peters and Pym were left with containers of vermin, barnacles and swills of
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