Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 and lived to the age of 40, it is known that he was a heavy drug and alcohol abuser. Although the most interesting part is that he was one of the first authors to ever deal with the darker side of life. Was this due to his addictions, was he really insane, as most people think, or was he just trying to reveal what all of us are afraid to think about? He saw himself as a poet, but it were his stories which made him rather famous. His writings, at the time were heavily criticized, he was unlike the others who wrote about the joy of life and flowers. After reading some of his works it is hard not to believe that he was crazy. The way that he depicts death and darkness are very strange, it appears that he gets much joy, or rather he is intrigued by it. Whether or not he was crazy the fact is that he is famous for his writings.
I think this due simply to the fact that we all have a darker side within, whether we like to admit it or not. We all wonder about death and want to know what it is like, because we are all going to die. We just don't like to show it for fear that people will look down upon us. He became so well known for this very reason, his writings gave people an idea of the dark side. Of course, they criticized him because no one wants to seem interested in death. Since the beginning of mankind we have been curious, we want to know everything, especially that which we are not supposed to. People want what they cannot have. There is something that drives us to know all, but once we have it, it is no longer important. In the Bible, God told Adam and Eve not to eat a certain fruit, they could have anything they desired, but not that particular fruit. So naturally they only wanted it more. Through time death has almost always been avoided, we are told that it is bad and not to think about it. This is what causes us to be lured to it. Whenever there is some sort of information on death, we as living beings want to know it.
