The Purloined Letter free essay sample

This paper discusses The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe. The following paper discusses how Poe categorized his works into two distinct categories, the grotesque and the arabesque and put The Purloined Letter into the grotesque category, for its use of more realistic characters who react more humanly to the story happening around them. At the beginning of the story, it seems like a very simple detective case, not like most of Poes dark and disturbing works. It seems relatively easy to figure out that the Minister took the missing letter, for whatever reasons. However, after searching the Ministers rooms, and the Minister himself, the police still cannot find the letter, and even after a month, it is still missing. Now Poe has set the stage. Why is this letter so important, and why is it still missing, if it was such a simple case? As Dupin says, Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain, said Dupin, and already we are wondering just what it is, and why it is so plain. We will write a custom essay sample on The Purloined Letter or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the first few lines we read, Poe has already roped us in, by making us wonder, and making us want to know more. It is a common style in fiction, especially mysteries, but it works, and Poe is a master of setting the stage.