Poe, in his frightening and shocking tales, revels truths about society. He is able to unlock the “ugly” of American society—those things we, ourselves, do not want to admit that we are attracted to or engage in.
Truth #1- Attraction to the wicked
Like we mentioned in class, “perversity” is a theme in Poe’s stories. Perversity, to Poe, is freedom to the furthest degree. It is completely going against societal norms; it is living in the margins and free spaces. Dictionary.com offers five definitions of the word “perverse”, two of these are “persistent or obstinate in what is wrong” and “turned away from or rejecting what is right, good, or proper; wicked or corrupt.” Poe accepts these definition and works within these realms. Perversity is typical viewed as a deviant characteristics and something that we collectively should shy away from. Poe unveils the truth about perversity, though, and dives into our attraction to the perverse.
In class we talked about Poe’s presentation of perversity as the idea of doing wrong for wrong’s sake. I think a lot of the class agreeded that we all--in some way--are drawn to perverse things simply because. We know the behaviors are bad, deviant and not good and right, but we do them anyways. Like in the “Black Cat”, the narrator had no hard feelings towards the cat and did not really have any reasons to get rid of the cat; he did it simply because he could—for wrong’s sake. We are attracted to the wrong, the wicked and the corrupted just simply because we are. Poe’s understanding of the human mind and our desire to do bad things is something that, as a whole, we do not want to recognize. Poe, in the “Black Cat,” demonstrates our magnetism to the perverse.
Even in "The Tell Tale Heart", the narrator recognizes what he has done is "mad", but that he is not a mad man, that actually it is pretty reasonable: "But why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses--not destroyed--not dulled them." In this plea, Poe sees these deviant acts as very real and actually enlightening. He thinks we ought to embrace these "mad" sides because they make us even more aware and real. The narrator even goes in great lengths to depend his actions--the entire tale is defending the perverse.
If Poe believes so strongly in the rationality of perversity, why does he defend it? Does it need defending?
Even in "The Tell Tale Heart", the narrator recognizes what he has done is "mad", but that he is not a mad man, that actually it is pretty reasonable: "But why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses--not destroyed--not dulled them." In this plea, Poe sees these deviant acts as very real and actually enlightening. He thinks we ought to embrace these "mad" sides because they make us even more aware and real. The narrator even goes in great lengths to depend his actions--the entire tale is defending the perverse.
If Poe believes so strongly in the rationality of perversity, why does he defend it? Does it need defending?
Truth #2- Desire things that destroy us (and interventions)
Early in the quarter we read several pieces from Asma. Asma said we are always trying to pinpoint traumatic events or reasons for our attraction to perverse things; we are constantly looking for reasons to explain why we could act in deviant ways. Asma concludes—as does Poe—that we are simply drawn to do bad things or to things that destroy us regardless of our past or personalities. And like early, how I used Asma to defended Hester Prynne (protagonist of the Scarlet Letter), I can also use Asma to defend Poe. We are all capable--all have it in us--to do bad things, to screw up. Our free-will allows us to make mistakes that lead to really bad things; it is just a human characteristic.
The paradoy of Intervention that we watched in class addresses this reality and also mingles in the questions that were asked in class: addiction and free-will: what is he choosing? is he choosing? I firmly believe in the ability and the power of choice. I believe that we have choses and we choose. If we fuck up, we choose again; we always have the ability to choose differently and to choose better. The majority of the class agree that addiction is a choice, and I agree too, but I think what Sean mentioned in class is helpful. Sean said that the initial choice leads to addiction, which therefore leads to a lack of free will. Further, by choosing addiction you are choosing against free-will, because no doubt is free-will challenged and brought down by addiction. I so get that free-will is taken away when rational thought is impaired. I've seen it with my own mother, who chose drugs and alcohol and an abusive boyfriend over her three children. It was always the drugs (or the getting of the drugs) that mattered. I knew my mother before the addiction and I knew her through the addiction. My mom was so loving and so in tune with everything me and my sisters needed; during her addiction the last thing on my mother's mind was us girls. But I always knew we were in her heart. She hurt, we hurt. There is no doubt--that I believe--that addiction leads to the suppression of free-will. And there is also no doubt that I believe that everyone has the ability to chose. What brings us out of the addiction is a choice though. And that is what I mean by the ability to always choose better.
Poe: “I knew myself no longer” when talking about alcoholism.
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