Blog 11

 

Berenice

The poem, Berenice, by Edgar Allen Poe was fascinating and I enjoyed reading it. Throughout the story, the narrator Egaeus pronounces his adoration and admiration for his cousin, Berenice, who he grew up with. I enjoyed how detailed and passionate the narrator was when describing Berenice and her beauty, “Oh, gorgeous yet fantastic beauty! Oh, sylph amid the shrubberies of Arnheim! Oh, Naiad among its fountains!” The story gets really deep when Egaeus begins to show how the two both begin to change, due to changes both health and mental changes. It upset me how Egaeus began to treat Berenice when her appearance began to drastically change due to her battle with epilepsy. It seems as if the only feelings Egaeus has toward Berenice is for he looks, so when her looks begin to deteriorate, he actually develops a disgust toward her. In my opinion, he should not have married her if he did not truly love her. Towards the end of the story, Egaeus’ obsession with Berenice’s teeth takes a horrific turn. I was horrified to discover at the end that his obsession drove him to pluck every one of Berenice’s teeth out, and even more horribly, she still survived after being knocked unconscious and mistaken for dead.

 

The Furnished Room

The short story, The Furnished Room, by O’Henry was a story that moderately interested me, however I thought the tone was very gloomy and sad. The story follows the tale of a young man who is in search of his lover. I loved how the man loved his lover, Eloise, so much that he desperately searched for her in vacant rooms all around the town, just to find someone who knew of her or seen her. I found it strange how the young man in the story’s name was not mentioned in the story, although other characters had their names mentioned, such as Eloise and Mrs. Purdy. I didn’t agree with the old woman when she was untruthful with the man when he asked of tenants who lived there previously. Eventually, the young man gives up his search and resorts to committing suicide, refusing to live without the love of his life. In my opinion, if he old woman had just been honest with the man about the young woman’s death, he could have discovered that Eloise had already passed and maybe his fate could have been different.  I found the story very ironic. The same room Eloise committed suicide in was the same exact room the man committed suicide in, kind of like Romeo and Juliet. One death caused another tragic death.

 

The Boarded Window

The short story, The Boarded Window, by Ambrose Bierce was a story that was interesting and captivating, although confusing and puzzling. The narrator describes the story of a mysterious man who lives on the frontier named Murlock. Murlock is a mysterious man who lives in a wooded house with a boarded window. When the narrator hints that Murlock has experienced an extraordinary incident that causes him to look older than he actually he is, I became very intrigued with the story. The narrator describes the incident that changed Murlock’s life – Murlock’s wife’s tragic death. It was very confusing, because as I read the story I had the feeling that Murlock’s wife was not really dead. However, when the panther attacks Murlock’s “dead” wife and Murlock regains consciousness to discover his wife has bitten off a piece of the panther’s ear, however it is clear his wife is dead for sure. The story is confusing because it is unclear if Murlock’s wife died and came back alive to fight off the panther, or Murlock’s wife never really died. The thing that is clear in the story is that Murlock boards the window in order to protect himself from the stranger creatures, and ensure the panther never returns.