Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe is a pioneer of American Romanticism in the early 19th century. He has created many meaningful animal images in his stories and poems which implicates his perspectives. The Ourang-outang in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is one of them. This paper tries to analyzes the Ourang-outang from three aspects including the victim of human cruelty, pursuer of freedom and accuser of the salvery. Captured by the sailor and locked wounded in a closet reflects the Ourang-outang is a victim. Ourang-outang’s struggle and its revenge on people during its run is the expression of pursuing freedom. The suggestion of razor and its destiny from being captured to sold reflets the Ourang-outang is a accuser of the salvery. This paper attempts to analyze the image of Ourang-outang to show Poe’s views on slavery and help the readers to have a better understanding of Poe’s works and his perspectives embodied. 

Keywords: Allan Poe; "The Murdes in the Rue Morgue"; animal images; slavery

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-2

1.1 Background of the Study-2

1.2 Literature Review-2

1.3 Significance of the Study-5

1.4 Structure of the Study-5

2. The Function of Animal Images in Poe’s Works-5

2.1 Catalyst for Horrible Atmosphere-5

2.2 Reflection of the Mental World of People-7

3. Animal Images in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"-8

3.1 Victim of Human Cruelty-8

3.2 Pursuer of Freedom-9

3.3 Accuser of the Salvery-10

3.3.1 Representative of the Black-10

3.3.2 Accusation of the Slavery-11

4. Conclusion-12

References-13