I need help figuring out some of the different aspects of narrative techniques used in the House of Usher and the Purloined letter. Things to include are the characterization, setting, and anything else that "narrative techniques" would involved. I am really lost, so any help would be REALLY appreciated! I haven't a clue where to begin with this...thanks in advance, and feel free to email me with any ideas. Please help! Thanks again...

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2000

Answers

THe Purlioned Letter uses a technique that is believed to have been started by Poe. This is the modern "detective" story. Writings that most people know that model this are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales of Sherlock Holmes. Dupin is Poe's Sherlock. He also appears in other stories like Murders of the Rue Morgue and the Mystery of Marie Roget. This character is the smart one. He discovers the mystery before anyone. However, to build suspence, the detective isn't the narrator. Rather the bumbling "Watson" character is. This keeps the reader from knowing what happens til the end when the detective explains all.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2000