Poe Delivers....Of course

As much as I love Edgar Allan Poe, I can't believe I haven't read "William Wilson" until now!  It's typical Poe and well worth the read.  I got interested in it because Lisa Scottoline said that she read it and it gave her the inspiration for her book THINK TWICE.  I'm glad I read it!  It's definitely a story about how we all have two sides....like DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.  In "William Wilson," it's an interesting twist, though because the second Wilson is the first Wilson's conscience even though the first Wilson never admits or acknowledges it.  I love the way Poe put this story together, too.  The only negative, if there is one--there really isn't, is that Poe, as per his usual, includes quite a few words that the reader has to stop and take the time to look up.  For me, that's a big part of what makes Poe's works so valuable and worth reading.  If you want to study for the SAT, read Poe!  (And Faulkner.)

Letting me figure "it" out for myself....

MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw is a new one for me.  The online class I'm taking this fall hasn't been the most productive idea that I've ever had (we're down to two of us left in the class and the other person isn't posting to the discussion board until the last minute for each lesson), but yet the class is, at least, giving me the opportunity to read a few pieces of British Literature that I've never read.  Shaw's play is one example of that.  The play as a whole does not have much action or much to make it interesting enough to be a play that modern readers would enjoy as much as others.  But I have to say that I enjoyed it simply because the whole play is about how Mrs. Warren is a prostitute, but not once in the whole play is the word (or any word that means the same thing) actually used.  Shaw brilliantly uses the words of his characters as well as their reactions to those words to reveal the truth of her profession.  It's genius.  I love it when I read something and the author lets me figure out what's going on without feeling a desperate need to tell me what to think, feel, or take away from the story.  It's what makes writers like Edgar Allan Poe so genius, and it's certainly what makes MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw worth reading.

I am more than one person...?!

I absolutely LOVE DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.  It really is one of the best stories from classic literature.  OK.  So I say that with just about every book I read, but it really is true.  I love studying about the dual nature of "man."  (And Woman!)  I do believe that we all have that side of us that Poe says is a "spirit of perverseness" (from "The Black Cat") where we take an odd pleasure in "evil" or "wrong" that we do or that others experience.  For the most part, your average human is a GOOD person who knows right from and CHOOSES to do right--most of the time.  It is when we give in to that other side of our selves, that "spirit of perverseness," that can get us into trouble--at least if/when we give in over and over--on a consistent basis.

I, for one, don't believe that one wrong makes a person evil.  Even some murderers (considering that murder is often treated as THE WORST evil possible) aren't necessarily evil to the core just because they've committed a murder.  Sometime murder is an act of passion in a MOMENT we weakness where the person simply loses control.  Does that mean that those murderers shouldn't be punished or have consequences for their actions?  Absolutely not.  But we can't label them ALL as "evil" just because of one act of violence.

I know that I myself have had at least one moment of extreme rage where I could have easily committed murder if I had given in to my baser instincts--that true "spirit of perverseness."  In the moment, it felt good to get the emotions out of me that had been building up over an extended period of time, but at the same time, it felt more awful than I can explain simply because I was so completely out of control.  I honestly was afraid not just for the person I was screaming at, but for myself because I was so very angry.  I could have hurt myself, too.

It's always so fascinating to me to talk about all the modern-day stories that have as their theme the duality of man.  We had some great discussions in each of my classes today where everyone presented some great examples, some of which I've never even thought of!  One of my favorites was Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader!  I'd love to hear other examples that you can come up with....!!!!